OKC Thunder: Grading Luguentz Dort’s development in his second season

The OKC Thunder blew up their roster in the last offseason. One of the few players they kept was second-year man, Luguentz Dort. The young Canadian burst onto the scene last season when he displayed the abilities of an All-NBA defender.

Due to being on a team that had the offensive talents of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chris Paul, Danilo Gallinari, and Dennis Schroder, Dort was able to concentrate on his defense. As a result, he averaged 6.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 0.8 assists in 22.8 minutes per game.

This is not a bad level of production for an undrafted rookie who worked his way onto a two-way contract and pushed hard in the G-League. Dort then threw everything he had into making it in the NBA and was rewarded with a full-time NBA contract.

The OKC Thunder developed Luguentz Dort in his second season

The Thunder knew that when they signed Dort and then blew up the roster that they were going to develop him this season. He is one of the key building blocks for the future alongside Gilgeous-Alexander and Darius Bazley.

Dort averaged 14.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.4 blocks in 29.7 minutes per game. His shooting was reasonable, going 38.7 percent from the floor, 34.3 percent from deep, and 74.4 percent from the line.

Dort took twice as many shots this season compared to last season. He was driving to the hoop, creating for himself as well as for others. All the while, Dort remained solid on the defensive end with only Stephen Curry getting out of hand on Dort’s watch.