- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 431,135
- Reaction score
- 44
You must be registered for see images
Fresh off a historic 131-80 Game 1 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, the Oklahoma City Thunder joined the perplexing paradox of being so good that it hurts their award chances.
The NBA announced its finalists for the seven prominent awards everybody in the basketball world knows. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the sole representative of the 68-14 ball club in the MVP race. He was joined by Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
To have one of the greatest regular-season campaigns ever and not have more award finalists is an oxymoron. Perhaps folks just became numb to the Thunder's winning machine. The biggest snub left off was Lu Dort. His teammates campaigned hard for him to be included in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation, but weren't loud enough to do so.
Instead, Evan Mobley, Draymond Green and Dyson Daniels were nominated. Mark Daigneault, Isaiah Hartenstein and Aaron Wiggins had the chance to react to Dort's exclusion from the group. Here's what they said about it:
Mark Daigneault
"The only thing I'll say about that is the way his teammates responded to that, both the way they handled the build-up to it and how hard they were pulling for him. Then the response they had for it, which was disappointment for him speaks volumes not only to his impact as a defender but more importantly, to his gravity and impact inside the locker room. I just think it shows the amount of respect he's built over a long period of time. Ultimately, when all is said and done and the awards are handed out, at the end of the day, it comes down to the respect you have with the people you're around the most and he has the utmost respect of all his teammates."
Isaiah Hartenstein
"I might need to get a podcast with Lu. I don't know. Maybe that. If you watched him all year, he's been great. The finalists are great defenders but watching Lu do what he does on a nightly basis, I think that's what people don't see and the stats don't show. To me, he's the Defensive Player of the Year."
Aaron Wiggins
“I think it’s insane. I do think there a lack of — I don’t wanna say attention to our team — but in terms of the way we played statistically defensively and the year we had, that doesn’t happen without elite defensive players. Lu Dort for us specifically is the main tool for us defensively. He sets the tone night in and night out. He guards the best guards, best wings and sometimes the best forwards. For him not to be top three in Defensive Player of the Year and I've watched him for years now not get credit for the work he's done, it's kinda insane to think about."
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: What OKC Thunder said about Lu Dort not being a DPOY finalist
Continue reading...
