{"id":195873,"date":"2025-07-26T15:41:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-26T15:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/195873\/"},"modified":"2025-07-26T15:41:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-26T15:41:09","slug":"ranking-lu-dorts-best-games-during-thunders-run-to-nba-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/195873\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranking Lu Dort’s best games during Thunder’s run to NBA championship"},"content":{"rendered":"

The OKC Thunder<\/a> has found success by maintaining its core values.<\/p>\n

OKC develops talent. It plays like a team. It prides itself on its defense. And Lu Dort<\/a> arguably represents Thunder basketball as well as anyone on the roster.<\/p>\n

Dort is the longest-tenured OKC player, and he was an invaluable piece to the team’s NBA championship run<\/a> last season. The 26-year-old guard earned an All-Defensive first team and also shot a career-high 41.2% from deep.<\/p>\n

Here are the top 10 performances by Dort during OKC’s title run.<\/p>\n

Pre-order our new book on the Thunder’s road to NBA title<\/a><\/p>\n

More: OKC Thunder NBA free agency 2025: Tracking latest trade rumors, contract extensions, more<\/a><\/p>\n

Top 10 Lu Dort games during OKC Thunder’s 2024-25 season<\/p>\n

Stat line: 11 points, six rebounds and two assists<\/p>\n

Dort didn’t just perform well during the playoffs. He also stepped up during the NBA Cup tournament.<\/p>\n

OKC earned a 118-104 home win<\/a> over Dallas in the quarterfinals, and Dort showed why he’s one of the league’s best defenders. He helped hold Luka Doncic<\/a> to only 16 points on 5-for-15 shooting from the field (2 for 8 from deep).<\/p>\n

Dort was the primary defender on three of Doncic’s 10 missed shots. He also chipped in 11 points, six boards and two assists.<\/p>\n

Stat line: 22 points, five rebounds and two steals<\/p>\n

No, this performance didn’t come during the NBA Finals. It came during OKC’s 74th game of the regular season, but it was still incredibly impressive.<\/p>\n

Dort torched the net for 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the field (6 for 7 from deep). The scoring spree helped OKC cruise to a 132-111 home win<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After shooting 29.7% from deep as a rookie in 2019-20, Dort shot a career-high 41.2% this past season on over twice as many attempts per game. He has made huge strides in that department, and this performance showed that.<\/p>\n

Stat line: 19 points, nine rebounds and three steals<\/p>\n

After playing lockdown defense against Doncic during the NBA Cup quarterfinals, Dort contributed in other ways during a semifinals game against Houston.<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-4 guard attacked the glass and snagged nine rebounds. He also scored 19 points on 5-for-11 shooting from the field (5 for 9 from deep), as OKC claimed a 111-96 home win<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dort nearly finished with a double-double, which would’ve been his first of the season and the sixth of his six-year career. Despite falling short of that feat, this well-rounded performance deserves a spot on the list.<\/p>\n

More: How did Thunder players perform in 2025 NBA Summer League? Grading Nikola Topi\u0107, others<\/a><\/p>\n

Stat line: 14 points, six points and one steal<\/p>\n

Dort couldn’t buy a shot throughout the first three quarters of a home game against Boston.<\/p>\n

He missed five of his six 3-point attempts, but he began to heat up in the final frame. Dort erupted for 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting from the field (3 for 3 from deep).<\/p>\n

That helped OKC outscored Boston 29-12 in the fourth quarter to secure a 105-92 victory<\/a>. The Thunder extended its win streak to a franchise record of 15 games, not including its NBA Cup finals loss to Milwaukee<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Stat line: 22 points, two rebounds and two assists<\/p>\n

Cleveland snapped OKC’s 15-game win streak on Jan. 8<\/a>. That set the stage for a highly-anticipated rematch between the league’s top two teams on Jan. 16.<\/p>\n

The Thunder got its revenge with a 134-114 home win<\/a>, and Dort got the best of Donovan Mitchell<\/a>. The Cavaliers’ superstar guard was held to just eight points on 3-for-15 shooting from the field (1 for 4 from deep).<\/p>\n

Dort was the primary defender on three of Mitchell’s 12 missed shots. He also scored 22 points of his own on 8-for-11 shooting from the field (6 for 9 from deep).<\/p>\n

Stat line: 26 points, seven rebounds and four steals<\/p>\n

This game marked a showdown between the league’s top two candidates for MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> and Nikola Jokic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But it was Dort who shined the brightest for the Thunder. He scored a season-high 26 points on 9-for-16 shooting from the field (8 for 14 from deep), and he also poured in seven rebounds and four steals.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for OKC, that wasn’t enough. Denver still walked out of Paycom Center with a 140-127 road win<\/a> on a night when Jokic racked up 35 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists.<\/p>\n

More: Who will OKC Thunder sign for final two-way contract? Examining options for 2025-26 season<\/a><\/p>\n

Stat line: 12 points, four rebounds and three steals<\/p>\n

The “Dorture Chamber” was in full effect during Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.<\/p>\n

Anthony Edwards<\/a> was held to 19 points on 7-for-18 shooting from the field (1 for 7 from deep). Dort was the primary defender on six of the superstar guard’s 11 missed shots, and he helped defend another three misses.<\/p>\n

With Edwards neutralized, OKC dismantled Minnesota in a 124-94 home win<\/a>. That booked the Thunder’s ticket to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012.<\/p>\n

Stat line: 15 points, four steals and four rebounds<\/p>\n

Game 1 of the Finals is one to forget for Thunder fans. They would surely love to erase Tyrese Haliburton’s<\/a> game-winning jumper from their memory.<\/p>\n

But don’t forget how good Dort was in that 111-110 home loss<\/a>. He recorded 15 points, four rebounds, four steals and two blocks.<\/p>\n

Dort knocked down five of his nine 3-point attempts, blitzed ball handlers and played with passion in what marked his Finals debut.<\/p>\n

Stat line: Six points, three rebounds and one steal<\/p>\n

Dort’s numbers were modest. He recorded six points, three rebounds and one steal.<\/p>\n

So, what is this performance doing at the No. 2 spot on the list? It’s here because of the defense Dort played, especially during the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

OKC outscored Indiana 31-17 in the final frame to earn a 111-104 road win<\/a> and tie the Finals at 2-2, and Dort set the tone. His defense was so elite that head coach Mark Daigneault singled him out after the game<\/a>, and that says a lot when playing on a team filled with strong defenders.<\/p>\n

More: Thunder schedule unveiled for 2025-26 NBA preseason slate: No Tulsa game for OKC<\/a><\/p>\n

Stat line: 12 points, three rebounds and one assist<\/p>\n

For one of the first times throughout the playoffs, Paycom Center went silent.<\/p>\n

Cheers turned into fears for OKC fans, as their team trailed Denver by nine points with 8:25 left in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals. If the Thunder lost, it would fall behind 3-2 in the series with Game 6 on the road.<\/p>\n

But Dort wasn’t about to let that happen. He scored OKC’s next nine points by draining a trio of triples, which revived both his team and the crowd.<\/p>\n

The Thunder ultimately outscored the Nuggets 34-19 in the fourth quarter to earn a 112-105 win<\/a>. OKC then won the series in seven games, and the rest is history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The OKC Thunder has found success by maintaining its core values. OKC develops talent. It plays like a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":195874,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3783],"tags":[7,311,840,8366,839,71,842,838,183,54,79,70,85,6,12902,67,310,475,179,3966,3965,61,134,65,132,276,275,286,66,83,277,55,64,312,63,82,73],"class_list":{"0":"post-195873","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oklahoma-city-thunder","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-city","10":"tag-connect","11":"tag-cup","12":"tag-dort","13":"tag-local","14":"tag-local-connect","15":"tag-luguentz","16":"tag-luguentz-dort","17":"tag-modular","18":"tag-modular-story","19":"tag-national","20":"tag-national-sports","21":"tag-nba","22":"tag-nba-cup","23":"tag-news","24":"tag-oklahoma","25":"tag-oklahoma-city","26":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","27":"tag-oklahomacity","28":"tag-oklahomacitythunder","29":"tag-overall","30":"tag-overall-positive","31":"tag-point","32":"tag-positive","33":"tag-scores","34":"tag-sport","35":"tag-sport-scores-u0026-statistics","36":"tag-sports","37":"tag-sports-news","38":"tag-statistics","39":"tag-story","40":"tag-the","41":"tag-thunder","42":"tag-to","43":"tag-to-the-point","44":"tag-u0026"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114920297807427159","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195873\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/195874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}