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Oklahoma City Thunder forward Luguentz Dort entered the postseason as a relatively unknown player to much of the basketball community but the undrafted rookie certainly didn’t finish that way.
Dort emerged as a key player during the first round of the playoffs versus the Houston Rockets, a series that saw the Rockets advance following a Game 7 win. Dort averaged 12.5 points and 3.7 rebounds and closed out the series by scoring a career-high 30 points in the final game, a Thunder rookie scoring record in a playoff game.
While Dort closed out the series on a high note, it was perhaps his defense on James Harden that captivated basketball fans. He held Harden to 10.8 points on 31.4% shooting from the field, including 26.3% from 3-point range, as his primary defender throughout the seven-game series, according to NBA tracking data.
Dort earned high praise from Harden afterward as the two players each attended Arizona State and have trained together in the past. He also earned a bit of praise from Rockets guard Austin Rivers, who admitted recently on Instagram Live that he initially didn’t know who Dort was.
Dort is crazy! I’m not even going to lie, I didn’t even know who that was. That dude was sliding them feet on everybody! We couldn’t wait to get him off of the court. We couldn’t wait, man. He felt like a [expletive] fullback, a linebacker.
Austin on Luguentz Dort: "I'm not gonna lie, I didn't know who that was. Dort is crazy." pic.twitter.com/DkCXstia6u
— Space City Scoop (@SpaceCity_Scoop) October 6, 2020
Dort proved to be a key piece the Thunder can build around in the future. Once he can develop a consistent offensive game, he has the potential to develop into one of the best two-way players in the league given his ability on defense.
Suffice to say, the Thunder hit a home run with the signing of Dort…
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