Lu Dort of the Oklahoma City Thunder poses for a portrait throughout 2023-24 NBA Media Day. – Zach Beeker/NBAE/Getty Images
The NBA common season is within the rearview, the playoff bracket is set, and for the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, the journey again to the mountaintop actually begins.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will understandably command a lot of the highlight. The reigning NBA MVP – who is the frontrunner for the award but once more – is having a 31.1 ppg season, his fourth straight yr averaging over 30 a sport.
But because the outdated adage goes: Offense wins video games, protection wins championships.
And that’s the place Lu Dort steps in.
The 6-foot-4 guard – who was chosen to the NBA All-Defensive First Team final season and placed fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting – was a key cog within the OKC group that lifted the Larry O’Brien Trophy as their major defensive stopper.
This season, the Thunder – who clinched the No. 1 seed in a troublesome Western Conference for the third straight season with a league-leading 64–18 report – unsurprisingly additionally had the No. 1-ranked defense but once more, with a score of 106.5.
And regardless of having a plethora of choices to make the most of on the defensive finish alongside Dort, together with 7-foot-1 Chet Holmgren and the ever-improving Cason Wallace, head coach Mark Daigneault nonetheless positioned the hardest assignments on the lately turned 27-year-old’s broad shoulders.
The child who sat within the crowd and didn’t hear his title known as at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on draft night time in 2019 hasn’t executed too unhealthy for himself.
“My journey wasn’t easy,” Dort advised CNN Sports forward of the playoffs. “There’s not a lot of kids that make it to the NBA from Montreal, so just that step was big.
“And the fact that this organization and (Thunder Executive Vice President & General Manager) Sam Presti trusted in me when I went undrafted and gave me a chance.
“It’s been a lot of blocks, and I’m trying to step over them every time. But if I had to talk back to the younger Lu as of right now, I’m real proud of him.”
Luguentz Dort #5 of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives to the basket throughout the sport in opposition to the Toronto Raptors on the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on February 24. – Vaughn Ridley/NBAE/Getty Images
Bigger than basketball
For Dort, it’s about extra than simply making an impression on the hardwood. The journey from undrafted prospect in 2019 to turning into an NBA champion in 2025 was solely half the story.
He was born and raised in Montreal – particularly in a borough known as Montréal-Nord – to dad and mom who immigrated from Haiti to Canada of their 20s. As he wrote in The Players’ Tribune: “Seeing everything they had to go through to start a new life, I learned that everything has to be earned through hard work. Nothing’s given. Words I live by.”
To perceive the place Dort is now, you may have to perceive the place he got here from. The aggressive fervor he brings to the court docket each night time can’t be taught; the get-it-out-the-mud mentality he has can’t simply be developed like getting photographs up within the gymnasium – you both have it otherwise you don’t.
That hearth inside Dort was lit approach again within the spring of ’99.
“Basketball was my way out,” he mentioned in The Players’ Tribune. Now, he’s utilizing basketball to give again by The Maizon Dort Foundation, a company he arrange to assist underserved communities in Montreal, Oklahoma City, and central Arizona, the place he spent a yr in school with the Arizona State Sun Devils in 2018.
“When I made it to the league, my biggest goal was to go back to my community and give back,” he advised CNN.
Luguentz Dort #5 of the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrates throughout the sport in opposition to the Boston Celtics at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on January 5, 2025. – Zach Beeker/NBAE/Getty Images
“I didn’t think I would be in this position one day. And I feel like when I was young, I wish I would have been part of somebody’s foundation, or community events that could stick (with me) for the rest of my life.
“So whenever I have a chance to give back to my community, I always do it and it’s always great to do it.”
Dort’s basis not solely supplies alternatives by sports activities, but additionally by artistic expression and tutorial assist – as a result of there’s one other aspect to the grit and grind of that fierce competitor we see on the court docket.
The foundations first “Pitch Day,” hosted on April 3 in Oklahoma City, highlighted the duality of Dort. With the NBA star in attendance, organizations introduced concepts for “Creation Stations,” with the winner receiving up to $20,000 in funding to assist native college students.
“I’m a learner, and I’m really curious to learn a lot and create at the same time,” he defined.
“Obviously, I’m a basketball player, but there’s way more in life. Kids don’t want to be just athletes, they want to do so much more, and creativity is a big part of life in general.
“So to be able to open that door for them is great and I’m really big on that. The Pitch Day was amazing and some of the stuff presented was great.”
An offseason of additional time
For those that do need to strive to observe in Dort’s footsteps and pursue professional sports activities, the 27-year-old hosts an annual basketball camp each summer season by his basis, fittingly known as the “Lu The Beast Camp,” which has run yearly since 2021.
This summer season, nonetheless, appears to be like set to be particularly busy for him.
The NBA star has a deep ardour for soccer – a sport he performed rising up in Montreal earlier than selecting up basketball – and the timing couldn’t be higher.
The upcoming FIFA World Cup is not solely being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and his beloved Canada, however he additionally has two horses within the race, as Haiti has additionally certified for the match for under the second time, final showing on the Beautiful Game’s grandest stage again in 1974.
“Obviously, both of my countries are in, so if I have the chance to go to any game – especially Canada or Haiti – I would go.”
An aerial view of BC Place stadium, in Vancouver, one in every of two Canadian stadiums that can host a number of matches throughout the upcoming FIFA World Cup. – Nav Rahi/AFP/Getty Images
“I also know a couple players. Me and (Haiti striker Duckens) Nazon have been cool for a long time, and (Bayern Munich defender) Alphonso Davies is the biggest star in soccer in Canada right now.
“Soccer is big, especially the World Cup. I feel like at a young age everybody used to watch the World Cup.
“So now, it’s not too far in America and Canada, it would be great to go see them play.”
And if Dort’s offseason schedule wasn’t busy sufficient, he additionally likes to use that point to lean into one other ardour of his: style.
“I’m into fashion a lot. It’s another side of creativity of mine,” he highlighted.
“I’m looking forward to attending shows (in Paris and New York), and continuing to explore brands like Thom Browne, Willy Chavarria, Ralph Lauren, Rick Owens, Calvin Klein, and others.
Dort attending Paris Fashion Week in June 2024. – Emerentienne Jade / Freelance Photographer
“To see some of these brands, how they be rolling and how they work, would be amazing.
“We’ll see how the season ends, but I would definitely like to go over there.”
Keeping concentrate on the principle factor
A basis supporting underserved youths throughout two international locations; a well timed ardour for soccer with two nationwide groups enjoying at this summer season’s World Cup; and a love for style that can take him inside just a few toes of runways within the US and throughout the Atlantic.
It’s a lot larger than basketball for Lu Dort.
But by all of it, he by no means forgets what put him within the place the place he is at this time. “I don’t get a lot of stuff I got now without basketball – basketball is always going to be number one no matter what,” he defined.
“I try to remind myself of that every single time. It’s really a mindset, a focus.”
Lu Dort of the Oklahoma City Thunder arrives to the world earlier than the sport in opposition to the Boston Celtics at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on March 12. – Zach Beeker/NBAE/Getty Images
Lu Dort of the Oklahoma City Thunder arrives to the world earlier than the sport in opposition to the Charlotte Hornets at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on January 5. – Zach Beeker/NBAE/Getty Images
That focus now shifts to Game 1 in opposition to the Phoenix Suns at Paycom Center, the place OKC’s raucous followers will be riled up and prepared.
“I said so many times we have the best fans and arena environment in the whole league.
“They know how much we care about them, and we know how much they care about us. It’s so fun to play at home. The energy they bring is crazy. We just love it.”
And they love him. Because, as famous earlier, this is a get-it-out-the-mud sort of man.
“Earned not given” – the mantra he lives by.
So beware when driving to the basket – that deal with higher be additional tight. Have your toes firmly planted and hold your head on a swivel when setting that display screen. And be prepared to pull the set off additional rapidly from past the arc – as a result of “The Dorture Chamber” is again for enterprise. Not that it was ever closed, nevertheless it runs a bit otherwise this time of yr.
“What we did last year was big, but we have a chance to do it again and, obviously, we’ll go for it.
“I’m proud to be on this team. Proud of some of the stuff we’ve achieved so far, and proud of some of the stuff we’ll achieve again.”
The playoffs are right here and Dort & Co. simply clocked in. Good luck stopping them.
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