Lu Dort entered the NBA as an undrafted rookie free agent from Arizona State. He signed a two-way contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 2019-2020 season. Dort quickly became a fan favorite and starter for the Thunder with his defense and playing hard every play. The World saw his defensive potential when he matched up against James Harden in the first round of the 2020 playoffs in the bubble. After that season, he improved his offensive game and has become a better defender. However, as we entered the 2024-2025 NBA season, Dort still hasn’t been given his recognition yet and has never been selected to one of the All-NBA Defensive Teams. Today, we will look at why he hasn’t been and why he should.
This Thunder Player Deserves More Respect on The All Defensive-Teams
Why Lu Dort Hasn’t Been Named To One of the All-Defensive Teams
A big part of why Dort hasn’t been on a defensive team is he doesn’t get the flashy stats. He isn’t going to be the player that gets you two steals and a block a night. In addition, he won’t get a lot of deflections that could turn into turnovers, either. Since he doesn’t get those flashy stats, people aren’t as quick to vote for him as an all-defensive type of player. However, the things he does on the defensive side of the ball don’t show up on the stat sheet. He holds stars below their shooting average and points per game.
A perfect example of this is against the Pelicans last year in the playoffs. Brandon Ingram averaged 20.8 points a game, shooting 49.2% from the field in the regular season. Lu Dort took Ingram out of the series by holding him to 14.3 points a game, shooting 34.5% from the field. In the next series against Luka Doncic, he did the same thing. In all four playoff series Luka played last year, his worst series came against the Thunder. He averaged 29.8 points against the Clippers, 32.4 points against the Timberwolves, and 29.2 points against the Celtics. However, against Lu Dort and the Thunder, he only averaged 24.6 points a game. This is what Lu Dort does on a night-to-night basis.
He Guards All-Star Players The Most
To go along with him holding all-stars below their season averages, he spends the most time covering them. According to Second Spectrum, Dort spends 46% of his minutes guarding the opposing lineup’s highest-usage player. That is the highest rate in the NBA. This means no one spends more time covering the best players in the world than Lu Dort. His defensive impact doesn’t show up on the stat sheets. The Thunder don’t have a top-five defense without Lu Dort, even with how good of a shot blocker Chet Holmgren has been. The Thunder’s defense starts with Lu Dort; it allows them to do certain things schematically on the defensive side of the ball because of him.
Receives High Praise from Teammates and Other Stars
Even though he hasn’t gotten his recognition by being named to an all-defensive team, this still hasn’t stopped the recognition he gets across the NBA for his talent. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, one of Dort’s teammates, has given him high praise once before.
“I always try to test myself against him,” Gilgeous-Alexander told The Athletic. “Because he’s the best of the best.”
When Shai feels the need to work on something, he makes sure Dort is the one covering him. He feels that if he can do the move and score on Dort, he can score on anyone.
Luka Doncic even complimented him after one of their games back in 2022 by saying he is a top-three defender in the NBA.
“I mean, yeah, he’s a great defender,” Doncic said of Dort after the Thunder earned an unprecedented comeback victory over the Mavs. “I think he’s one of the top three defenders in the NBA. It’s really tough to play against him. He’s been doing an incredible job since I’ve been here.”
Those are two of the best players in the NBA, giving high praise to someone who hasn’t been selected to an all-defensive team.
In a Survey, He Ranked Second for the Best Defenders in the NBA
In addition, back in 2023, NBA players voted on who the best defender in the NBA was. Lu Dort came in second place, only trailing Jrue Holiday. People in the NBA know what kind of defensive player he is and how hard it is to go against him. However, the media and people voting have yet to give him that recognition by not putting him on the all-defensive team. In 2024, he finished 11th in voting, which means if there was a 3rd team for the all-defensive teams. He would have been on the third team.
Via an @TheAthletic poll, NBA players voted on the best defender in the NBA
Takeaways? pic.twitter.com/0AA9nEpKEb
— NBA University (@NBA_University) April 18, 2023
Last Word on Why Lu Dort should be on a Defensive-team
Finally, with all the recognition he has gotten from NBA stars over the years with his defensive ability. In addition to him spending the most time guarding all-stars, and what he was able to do to Ingram and Luka in the playoffs last year. The Thunder should be a top team in the West again, as well as a top defensive team. Hopefully, when the 2025 awards come out Lu Dort gets the recognition he deserves and makes his first appearance on an all-defensive team.
