Lu Dort reacts to finishing in 4th place for Defensive Player of the Year
Lu Dort reacts to finishing in 4th place for Defensive Player of the Year
Despite the Oklahoma City Thunder's hard push to jettison him into the Defensive Player of the Year conversation, Lu Dort finished just shy of being named one of the three finalists. Several teammates were outraged at worst and puzzled at best by his exclusion.
Turns out, Dort finished just shy of being among the top three. Evan Mobley comfortably won the award with 285 voting points. Dyson Daniels was second at 197 voting points. Draymond Green finished in third place with 154 voting points despite going on a podcast tour to campaign for himself.
The next in line was Dort. He had 109 voting points. While he didn't win the prestigious award despite being one of the NBA's best perimeter defenders over the last five years, he'll surely make his first career All-Defensive Team. After all, he is the face of the greatest defenses ever.
After the Thunder completed a historic 29-point comeback win in Game 3 en route to a Round 1 sweep, Dort discussed the final voting results. The Defensive Player of the Year award was one of the more open races this season. Victor Wembanyama became disqualified when he missed the post-All-Star break schedule due to blood clots.
"Congrats to Mobley. He's a helluva defender. He's been a really good defender for his team," Dort said. 'Obviously, for the past few years, I haven't gotten any recognition. Going from nothing to fourth, I guess I'm heading the right way.'
The Thunder tried their best to get Dort in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation. Instead, they'll settle for being named one of the 10 best defenders. Maybe next year can finally be the year he wins it to cap off one of the greatest undrafted rookie journeys the NBA has ever seen.
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