Beloved Thunder player has gone from key cog to arguable afterthought

Luguentz Dort is often the forgotten man on the Oklahoma City Thunder by national media and even, on occasion, the franchise's faithful followers.

Entering the 2024-25 season, Oklahoma City has received quite a bit of attention as the favorite to once again finish first in the conference standings and, thereafter, to represent the West in the 2025 NBA Finals.

NBA pundits rightfully recognize the talent of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, and the offseason additions such as Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein.

Yet, in a surprising turn of events, most seemingly fail to give credit to the key core player that has consistently been Lu Dort.

OKC Thunder veteran Lu Dort deserves more recognition

During the 2019 offseason, Sam Presti made a flurry of moves to retool the Oklahoma City Thunder. Most notably, franchise legend Russell Westbrook was traded, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was acquired in the Paul George swap.

However, another influential transaction took place -- The signing of undrafted free agent, Luguentz Dort.

The former Arizona State product spent quite a bit of time in the NBA G-League in his first season in the association, but, toward the back-end of the campaign, eventually earned a spot in the starting rotation and has been a mainstay ever since due to his tenacious energy and defensive effort.

During the retooling years, "Sweet Lu" was easy to root for as he played with a similar chaotic intensity Thunder fans were used to seeing from Westbrook. Ironically, they also share the quality of questionable shot selection from time to time.

Regardless, Dort has improved his offensive arsenal every season he's been in OKC, including a massive increase in his 3-point shooting percentage from 33.0 percent to 39.4 percent the last two years.

Offensive improvements are nice to see but Dort's offense is just icing on the cake.

The 25-year-old will be entering his sixth NBA season with 308 games played, including 16 playoff battles. Dort's role since entering the NBA has been guarding the opponent's best player night in and night out. NBA players such as Luka Dončić and Damian Lillard have spoken about the defensive specialist's prowess over the years, with the latter going as far as to say:

"I think he has the perfect balance of strength, quickness, speed and desire to do it. And he’s young. So I just think he is the best at it."

While Dort receives praise from his peers, his play is often criticized by analysts and fans.

The Ringer recently left him out of their Top 100 NBA Players list while including some controversial names like Dillon Brooks and Josh Hart instead.

Additionally, the vet has yet to receive any All-Defensive team honors as he was two votes short last season but media members quickly regretted leaving him off their ballots once the postseason started.

Luguentz Dort's true value for a team was showcased in last year's playoff battles against the Pelicans and Mavericks. However, fans may have forgotten this was not the veteran's first playoff experience.

Dort earned the challenging assignment of guarding James Harden in the 2020 Lake Buena Vista playoff bubble. The, then, Thunder head coach Billy Donovan quickly realized the wing had to play every second Harden was out on the floor.

The series came down to game seven, where many key Thunder players at the time struggled while one player made a name for himself. Dort scored 30 points, draining six 3-pointers while holding Harden to 17, almost dragging the team to victory.

Harden got the last laugh, however, as the Thunder would lose due to Dort's last-second shot attempt which was blocked by the former Thunder guard himself.

There are many players in the NBA who are key cogs for a team who are deemed unplayable in the playoffs due to their lack of shooting and/or defensive prowess. There are 82 game players, and then there are postseason players.

The latter have skillsets that impact winning under the brightest lights and on the biggest stages. Dort is this kind of player.

OKC fans and analysts have floated the potential of trading Dort. Based on last postseason, the Thunder would have been foolish to have made such a move -- just ask Brandon Ingram, who posted just 14.3 points on 34.5 percent from the field while having dropped 19.4 points on 46.8 percent shooting from the floor during the regular season.

Dort completely shut down the Pelicans' best active player for an entire playoff series.

The next test was Luka Dončić, where, though he played well, ultimately, Dort made him work hard for everything he got. He posted 24.5 points though was forced into 4.5 turnovers with the beloved Thunder vet serving as the primary defender, which, compared to the Mavs superstar's scoring feats of 32.4 points with 3.6 turnovers in the next series against the Timberwolves, is a clear stark contrast.

It is enormously beneficial as a coach to know that you do not have to worry about who will have to guard the other team's most dominant perimeter player. You see teams paying big contracts or trading serious assets to acquire individuals who can act as the primary point-of-attack defender.

Lu Dort is not a perfect player, but he is the perfect role player for this young Oklahoma City Thunder squad entering the 2024-25 season.

Fans and pundits alike need to give him his flowers and enjoy the same tornadic energy he adds every night like it is Game 7 of the NBA Finals which, interestingly enough, is a contest this team very well could find itself partaking in.