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With Ja Morant, Desmond Bane received a temporary job promotion as the Memphis Grizzlies' top perimeter scorer. Let's just say the perks weren't worth the added responsibilities against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In the Thunder's fourth blowout win of the season over the Grizzlies, Bane was invisible. He was held to three points on 1-of-12 shooting. This turned into the latest example of what being defended by Lu Dort does to the opposition's top scorer.
After another snoozer, the Thunder's postgame interview morphed into Dort's DPOY campaign. His coach and teammates utilized their platform to push for his case to win the prestigious award. It's tough to argue otherwise after what he did against the Grizzlies.
Here's what Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams said as to why Dort should win the Defensive Player of the Year with so many other candidates knocked out due to the 65-game minimum rule:
Mark Daigneault
On Dort's defense: "When Shai gets 30, it's kinda like, 'Whatever, it's another 30-point night for Shai.' When Lu does an unbelievable job on great players that are hired scorers in the NBA, it's kinda to that point. If you stack up and look at the list of lines that great players in the NBA have had against Lu — he's not doing it by himself, it's a five-man defense and other guys guard those guys — but it's an unbelievable impact. That was another great performance. One of many and it's become routine. That's what great players do."
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
On Dort's DPOY case: "What he's been to our point-of-attack all year and his whole career has been amazing. There's nobody in the NBA like him. What he does is special every night. You can't teach it. It's a gift. He puts it on display every night. Guards the other team's best player and it's not a lot of nights people get the best of him. Very few. That goes a little bit unnoticed because we have a team full of defenders and there's a reason why we have a little good defense. Lu Dort is at the front of that."
Jalen Williams
On Dort's defense: "We got off Lu a lot. He guards the best player every single night. Defensive Player of the Year. Just looking at that, to be able to find what you're good at and be able to do it at a high level every single night for 82-plus games is incredible. We look for him to do that every night. He knows it. I think our defense caters towards if he does get beat, just kinda be there for him. It's special."
Lu Dort
On possibly winning DPOY: "It'll be good to be awarded for the work I do on the court, but at the same time, I'm not going out there just for an award. I'm going out there to help my team to win. That's what I'm going to do every night. Every time I'm out there, that's what I'm going to do."
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Why Thunder believe Lu Dort should win Defensive Player of the Year
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