Whenever a star player approaches the scorer’s table, Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault often motions toward his bench. He calls for Lu Dort to check in the scorer’s table, too.

“I’ve noticed Coach doing that as a tactic just to get in their head,” Dort told Sportskeeda.

The reason? Dort has become one of the NBA’s best perimeter defenders, which often entails defending the team’s top scorers.

This season, alone, tracking data shows that Dort has held NBA’s top stars to inefficient performances, including Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards (9-for-24), Denver’s Jamal Murray (10-for-25), Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell (6-for-18), Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan (8-for-20) and Atlanta’s Trae Young (4-for-15).

No wonder Daigneault often sees the opponent’s top player showing a concerned look once Dort approaches the scorer’s table.

“The star player looks at me like, ‘Come on man,’” Daigneault said. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, here it comes.’ That to me is the mark of a great defender. He’s got the respect of his peers.”

Dort doesn’t quite have respect from the general public, though.

Dort has earned enough respect from his peers since last season that most of them ranked him as the NBA’s second-best defender behind Jrue Holiday, according to The Athletic’s players’ poll. He hasn’t received the same respect from select media members, which have voted for the NBA’s All-Defensive Teams.

Dort has expressed more interest in whether the Oklahoma City Thunder can win an NBA championship or at least make a deep playoff push. The Thunder (42-19) trail the Minnesota Timberwolves by ½ a game for first place in the Western Conference after making the league’s Play-In tournament last season. But Dort does use his All-Defensive team exclusion as any source of motivation?

“It serves a lot. Doing what I do is not easy with playing against the toughest matchup every game,” Dort told Sportskeeda. “It’s not easy. But at the same time, we weren’t really in the position for me to be talking about it. But I feel like right now, we are.”

Lu Dort exclusive interview
Dort spoke to Sportskeeda about his defense, the Thunder’s playoff chances and his case for other teammates to win other individual awards, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (regular-season MVP), Chet Holmgren (Rookie of the Year) and Jalen Williams (Most Improved Player).

Editor’s note: The following 1-on-1 conversation has been edited and condensed.

How do you assess the big picture of where you’re at as a team, this season?

Lu Dort:

“We’re having a great season. You can’t take that for granted. It took a long process and a long way if you look up the couple of years before that. But we’re excited to be here. We’re going to push and fight to where we want to get.”

You’re high up in the standings. But what do you think the regular-season season success as well as some of the losses, including against the Lakers, means for the playoffs?

Lu Dort:

“It’s (all about) experiences. Playing against an older team like that has a lot of experience. We’ll go back, watch film and try to get better.”

Even with all the talent you have, how can you overcome the quote-unquote playoff inexperience?

Lu Dort:

“I have experience. Shai has some experience. We all have played in the Play-In last year. I feel like for those type of guys that are really good players, it’s not really going to be hard for them to adjust. At the end of the day, it’s basketball. It’s just more intense. We’ve been doing well all season. That is not going to change that.”

In what ways do you think the roster continuity can also overcome that?

Lu Dort:

“It’s definitely going to help. We’ve been in a bad position. We’re in a good position now. We’ve been through adversity. We all like each other. We like playing on the court together. So I think all of that is going to help.”

Mark cited your mental toughness as one of the key things that has fueled your great defense. How did you develop that?

Lu Dort:

“Reflecting back on everything, how hard I worked to get here. I can’t just lay down now, even though sometimes it is tough. At the end of the day, it’s basketball. I worked my way all the way up here to do this for a living. So, I’m just grateful to be in this position.”

The Athletic ran a players’ poll last year that said they ranked you as the second-best defender behind Jrue Holiday. What does that mean to you?
Lu Dort:

“It’s great. It’s great to hear that from the players instead of everybody who votes for those defensive teams and stuff like that. It’s good that I get recognized by the players. Those are elite players that I guard every night. So it’s great.”

One of your matchups called you a ‘strong defender’ and said you ‘move your feet really well’ and ‘know how to use your body without fouling’. How do you do that?

Lu Dort:

“The No. 1 thing for me is by watching film and trying to learn players’ tendencies. I feel like everyone can move their feet. But whenever you know a player that you’re going up against, it’s easier to guard them. My main thing is that I’m really about watching film. I have on my iPad quotes from some of the top players and notes that I take after games to see how I can go against them the next time. It’s something I started doing my rookie year. It’s been helping me since.”

In what ways has that made a difference on defense?
Lu Dort:

“Those good players do the same thing every night. But they’re just great at doing it. So, I’m trying to find ways to mess things up and make it tough for them.”

I looked at some of the tracking data that highlights your strong defensive matchups this season. What do you think helped fuel these kind of performances?
Lu Dort:

“It’s not just me. It’s the whole team with helping each other. But at the same time, I got the same approach. It’s to make everything tough for them.”

How do you weather games when your main assignment is having a good scoring night?
Lu Dort:

“They’re All-Stars and great players for a reason. They’re going to have some great games. But I can’t lay down.”

Given all of that, you haven’t made an All-Defensive team yet. To what extent does that serve as any fuel?
Lu Dort:

“It serves a lot. Doing what I do is not easy with playing against the toughest matchup every game. It’s not easy. But at the same time, we weren’t really in the position for me to be talking about it. But I feel like right now, we are [in that position]. We’ll see what happens. But I don’t really think about that. That’s just accolades. I feel like the best thing I can do is to do anything to help my team win. I’m doing this for my team. I’m not doing this to make an award. So I don’t really go out there and think about it. I try to be the best player that I can be on the court.”

Understanding all of that, you have some teammates that could be in running for different awards. What’s your case on why Shai should win MVP, why Chet should win Rookie of the Year and why Jalen should win Most Improved Player?
Lu Dort:

“Shai has been doing what he’s been doing all season. Plus with the position that we are in right now, he’s been uplifting us. With all the stuff that he’s been doing in the NBA in general, I think he should get the MVP. With Chet, I don’t know who else is in the competition. But I’m pretty sure that we rank higher than them. He’s been helping our team with having a higher ranking. So, I think he should get Rookie of the Year. With what Jalen has been doing with his improvements from his first year to second year, he should be in the conversation for one of the Most Improved Players in the NBA.”

How has Shai grown as a player and a leader this season?
Lu Dort:

“Me and Shai have been here the longest. The way he’s grown as a leader is insane. Now, he’s really vocal. The way he gets us ready for games and the way he starts games for us is amazing. We just follow that.”

What’s your outlook with how Team Canada can do in the Paris Olympics?
Lu Dort:

“We’re going to try go out there and win the gold medal. We’ve shown the world that we’re a pretty good team. We’re going to shock a lot of people and make a lot of noise. It’s going to be nice to have a chance to go to the Olympics and have a chance to compete for the gold. The team chemistry that we have is so crazy. In the short time together, we’ve gotten close. Just knowing we can be a part of history is huge.”