In case you didn’t hear during the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets series, Luguentz Dort attended the same university as James Harden.
The former ASU players matched up against each other in the first round of the playoffs. During the series, Dort didn’t say anything publicly about looking up to Harden, but after it ended, he posted to Instagram two pictures of them from the series and one of them practicing at ASU.
The post had the caption “Idols become your rivals” with a pitchfork to represent ASU.
Suffice to say, this matchup to Dort meant more than facing off against even a normal superstar.
In the comment section, guard Dennis Schroder told Dort he is proud of the rookie, and ASU’s men’s basketball account commented “two goats.”
Dort defended Harden well in the series, making life much tougher for the former MVP when Dort stepped on the court beginning Game 2.
Through Game 3, Harden was shooting just 5-for-34 on the season when guarded by Dort. Dort’s ability to move laterally quickly, keep his hands out of Harden’s space to avoid fouls and swipe away from Harden on the step-back attempts — not at his face or arm — helped prevent Harden from fully going off in the series.
Then, in Game 7, Dort went on the offensive and broke Harden’s franchise record for points scored by a rookie in a playoff game.
In the end, though, the idol got the final punch, blocking Dort to prevent a 3-pointer late in Game 7.
The Rockets advanced, but Dort got invaluable experience defending the player whose shoes he often wears — though he wore different shoes in this series against the player who is now, to Dort, a rival.