National Media Members Discuss OKC Thunder Standout Lu Dort's Candidacy for DPOY

The Oklahoma City Thunder have had an incredible all-around season.

Winning 68 games, OKC was obviously impressive on both sides of the floor this year, but the team's strength was on defense. With players like Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso and others on the roster, the Thunder were armed with multiple players who have impressive defensive skill sets.

The aforementioned players all played a big part in the Thunder's defensive success in 2024-25, but of all the talented defenders on OKC's roster, one stood out above the rest.

Lu Dort has been a defensive specialist since he arrived in the Modern Frontier on a two-way contract as an undrafted free agent. Since then, the Arizona State product has steadily improved on both sides of the ball, shooting above 41% from beyond the arc on 5.8 attempts per game this season.

Dort has also continued to grow on defense, and has worked his way into Defensive Player of the Year arguments this season. On a recent episode of the Game Theory podcast with Sam Vecenie and Bryce Simon, the show's hosts discussed Dort's candidacy for the award.

"If I had to pick one guy to defend at the point of attack, I think it would be (Dort)," Simon said. "I love his physicality on the ball. Here would be the argument and the fun conversation. I don't think he's as good off the ball as, maybe, some of these other guys we're going to talk about. ... I love Lu Dort, I love his game, and I think the way he plays at the point of attack is really incredible."

Dort was third on Simon's list of Defensive Player of the Year candidates, coming in behind Evan Mobley and Amen Thompson.

On the season, Dort averaged 1.1 steals per game while commonly guard the opposing team's best offensive player. Additionally, Dort's success on defense helped lead Oklahoma City to one of the top defensive performances in recent history, finishing the season with a 107.5 defensive rating, which was the best in the NBA this year, and a 12.8 Net Rating, the second-highest mark in NBA history.

Aside from Mobley, Thompson and Dort, Golden State's Draymond Green and Atlanta's Dyson Daniels are also candidates for the Defensive Player of the Year award.

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