OKC Thunder's Lu Dort Among NBA Leaders in Matchups With No. 1 Options

It's no secret that Oklahoma City has one of the best defensive units in recent memory.

The Thunder's effort on that end of the floor helped the team to 68 regular season wins despite missing Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein for significant stretches. In the postseason, OKC's defense propeled the franchise to its first NBA title despite Mark Daigneault's team struggling to hit 3-point shots.

Armed with All-Defense honorees like Alex Caruso, Lu Dort and Jalen Williams the Thunder are able to employ a dominating team defense. Add Cason Wallace, Holmgren, Hartenstein and even Shai Gilgeous-Alexander into that mix, and its easy to see why OKC's defense was so menacing.

With two current and one former All-Defense honorees on the Thunder's roster, and another player with the potential to earn that status in Holmgren, observers posed the question: who is Oklahoma City's best defender?

While there is no clear cut answer to that question, the player on OKC's roster who was tasked with the most difficult matchups last season, was Dort.

According to data from Todd Whitehead at Sportradar, Dort ranked No. 5 across the NBA last season in most matchups against opposing team's No. 1 offensive options.

The basketball version:
Most Matchups vs. a #1 Option. https://t.co/4BqhibjzFI pic.twitter.com/GJnyqFcq9e
— Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) October 1, 2025

Dyson Daniels, Christian Braun, Toumani Camara and Jaden McDaniels checked in ahead of Dort, with Mikal Bridges, Stephon Castle, Jaylen Wells, Keegan Murray and Andrew Nembhard rounding out the top 10.

Whitehead's data measures the amount of times each player was matched up with a team's top offensive option when that player received a touch in the frontcourt. For Dort, that number was 1,863.

Even amongst a team full of skilled defenders, Dort's positioning on the list doesn't come as a surprise. The six-year veteran frequently matches up on the opposing team's lead scorer or creater, allowing Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams to reserve some energy for offense.

Additionally, Williams' size and length makes him a versatile defender that often guards wing players or forwards. Caruso took plenty of reps guarding elite scorers in the NBA playoffs, including superstars like Nikola Jokic, Caruso's age and injury history prevent him from being the same level of defensive stopper as consistently throughout the regular season.

While Holmgren has elite defensive traits, his height prevents him from being the primary defender on most team's No. 1 options.

Despite being so frequently matched up with talented offensive players, Dort still turned in a remarkable campaign in 2024-25, earning First-Team All-Defense for the first time in his career. The Arizona State product averaged 1.1 steals and 0.5 blocks per game last season.

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