LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 10: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers handles the ball ... [+]
Lu Dort of the Oklahoma City Thunder has made massive strides offensively over the past year. He has doubled his points and assists per game from his rookie year to this season.
In a game against the San Antonio Spurs earlier this week, Dort produced 16 points while shooting 4-of-7 from deep. The most important 3-pointer of the four came in the final seconds of the game, as Dort knocked down his first ever game-winner at any level.
After his game winning shot, Al Horford was asked about Dort and his performance. Rather than talking about his improvement as an offensive player, he mentioned Dort’s defensive ability.
Horford isn’t wrong about Dort being one of the best defenders in the NBA. In fact, Dort was listed in the top-five of the NBA Defensive Player of the Year ladder on NBA.com recently.
Dort takes the lead on defending opposing teams’ best guard or wing on every given night. He never steps down from the challenge, making life difficult for some of the most explosive scorers in the entire league.
Oklahoma City has been excellent overall on defense this season with Dort leading the team on that end of the floor. Additionally, the Thunder have the 12th best defensive rating (110.2) in the entire league. Through their 13 games in the month of February, Oklahoma City has the second-best defensive rating (107.5) in the NBA, showing drastic improvement.
Already known for being one of the best defenders in the league, Lu Dort is quickly becoming one of the premier two-way players in the NBA. Whether it’s locking down a superstar on defense, or scoring at a high level on offense, Dort can do it all.
To make things even better for the Oklahoma City front office, Dort is only making around $1.52 million this season. This makes his contracts one of the most attractive and team-friendly of any in the entire NBA.
