OKC Thunder: Lu Dort is primed for a big role on Team Canada

With the OKC Thunder laser-focused on the upcoming NBA Draft, fans craving live-action have been getting our hoops fix via the ongoing postseason. Today another option enters the mix as the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments begin.

Although no one from the Thunder is on the Team USA roster Luguentz Dort made the roster for Team Canada. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s injury kept him from participating but his cousin Nickeil Alexander-Walker made the cut.

In the narrator’s opinion, Dort was always a lock to make Team Canada. Apparently, more than Dort believed it himself, as his end-of-the-season presser stated he hoped to make the team.

Granted, the players originally expected to participate took a big hit. Injuries ruled out SGA and Jamal Murray. Likewise, free agency and playoff fatigue removed others such as Dillon Brooks, Kelly Olynyk, Tristan Thompson, and Oshae Brissett.

OKC Thunder wing Dort is primed for a big role on Team Canada

Regardless, there was one simple reason why his presence on Team Canada was destined — the head coach is Nick Nurse! While the Raptors bench boss is known primarily for his offense it’s the defensive end of the floor where he takes the most pride. The ‘build a wall” to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo, Box plus one versus Steph Curry, and much of the zone defenses witnessed in recent seasons all pay big homage to Nurse.

Any Raptor player will tell you there is one mandate on the team — to commit and play hard defensively. The youngsters who gained minutes this season in Tampa Bay such as Yuta Watanabe, Malachi Flynn, and Freddie Gillespie were rewarded with minutes only after they demonstrated their ability and commitment on defense.

That’s why Lu was always going to end up on Team Canada. He’s not just one of the league’s best defenders he also can offer an offensive skill set and is an unselfish player who makes smart decisions. I’ll be shocked if he’s not Nurse’s favorite on the team. In fact, Nurse was probably salivating over having a player of Dort’s defensive prowess and ability to guard a range of positions. Check out the praise Nurse effuses when discussing the OKC Thunder wing:

"‘My opinion of him hasn’t changed seeing him up close… He’s really good, man. Defence, a lot of its desire and he has a lot of desire to play it. That goes along with the gifts he’s been given physically and he matches those up together really well.’"

While Dort has grown offensively this season playing with other top talents like Andrew Wiggins and RJ Barrett will afford him the ability to expand his game. Coach Nurse is already hinting that trio is where he sees the team’s strengths.

The OKC Thunder wing can look at the progression other players made under Nurse. Khem Birch loved the experience last summer and spoke glowingly of his time under Nurse. When the Magic released him that was a big reason why he chose to join the Raptors.

Another example is youngster Oshae Brissett who turned a stint on the National team into a role with the Raptors on a two-way deal. However, with Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka exiting in free agency last year he was one of the cuts to make room to sign Aron Baynes and Alex Len. That opened the door for the Pacers to scoop him up. No doubt Nate Bjorkgren played a role in that decision as he knew Brissett from his time as an assistant on Toronto and the National team.

OKC Thunder fans should be excited to witness what elements of Dort’s game Nurse will unlock. With all due respect to Brissett and Birch, I’m confident Lu has more potential that Nurse can help expose and develop. That’s a win-win for the OKC Thunder who’ll be the long-term benefactors of the steps he makes during this National Team experience.

Team Canada launches their tournament this evening facing Greece at 7:05 p.m. EST. Clearly, Greece is missing their best player (Giannis) who’ll also be playing tonight but on the NBA playoff stage.

More from Thunderous Intentions

Games in the qualifying tournament schedule come in rapid succession with the next game slated for Wednesday versus China (again at 7:05 p.m). The two teams with the best record from this group will play again in the semi-finals on Saturday, July 3rd (time TBA). Winners from the semi-finals will face each other on Sunday, July 4th at 7:05 pm to determine the tournament winner with an Olympic berth on the line.

Serbia, Lithuania, Germany, and Canada are the four host countries with 23 teams vying for the four remaining openings in the Toyko, Olympics. Each tournament features six countries except for the Belgrade event where Senegal had to pull out due to COVID-19 issues. Below are the four host countries and teams participating in those tournaments on each side of the bracket.

Belgrade, Serbia

Group A: Dominican Republic, Philippines, Serbia
Group B: Italy, Puerto Rico (Senegal out)

Kaunas, Lithuania:

Group A: Korea, Lithuania, Venezuela
Group B: Angola, Poland, Slovenia

Split, Germany:

Group A: Germany Mexico, Russia,
Group B: Brazil, Croatia, Tunisia

Victoria BC, Canada:

Group A: Canada, China, Greece
Group B: Czech Republic, Turkey, Uruguay

The tournament winner from each of these events will join the eight teams who’ve already qualified for the Toyko, Olympics. Those eight countries are Argentina, Australia, France, Iran, Japan, Nigeria, Spain, and the United States.

ESPN Plus is carrying the games if you want to catch Lu Dort and his National team in action. I have a good feeling Canada can win their tournament and the OKC Thunder wing has the potential to be his country’s break-out star. Imagine if he does that considering he wasn’t even sure he’d make the squad.

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