The Thunder have since swallowed the miles to get to the East Coast, with two defeats in their bags in Atlanta and Brooklyn, but Wednesday evening, the atmosphere was more than good in Oklahoma. Lu Dort and his team were riding a series of five victories in a row, and not least that evening against the big names of the East, the Boston Celtics.
Pillar of the OKC locker room since his arrival, undrafted, in 2019, the Canadian guard gave us a few minutes to take stock of the Thunder's very convincing start to the season, but also on his objectives and a return to the playoffs which appears more and more imminent. Without forgetting the Canadian selection which can also have big ambitions for the next Olympic Games.
Lu, you are finally second in the Western Conference, can we say that you are ahead of your passing times? Or were these your expectations at the start of the season?
Honestly, we didn't really have any expectations. Our mentality is to attack each match with the desire to win. We are currently exceeding expectations, it's true, but we continue to take one match after another, and we always want to be competitive.
You beat Minnesota, the first in the West, and Boston, the first in the East, almost in quick succession, does that still allow you to position yourself in relation to the biggest teams in the League?
It shows us that we have a chance. These are teams that make the playoffs every year, and they have had a lot of success. The fact that we are able to play them, push them and beat them too, it shows us that we are capable of playing at that level.
You don't yet have a collective experience in the postseason, isn't that going to be a significant gap for this year's playoffs?
It's certain. The playoffs are another season. The crowd, the atmosphere, everything is different! We know it will be a little harder for us. We have good guys, good players here. We will be able to adapt.
“We want to go [à Paris] and enter our names into history”
You are one of the oldest members of the team, you have been a privileged witness to this meteoric rise over the last two years, what is your perspective?
Yes, I'm very happy about it, it's the work that pays off. In my case, this is what got me to where I am now. I knew the first few years were going to be tough, it was going to be tough because of the plan that the franchise had. But we worked hard to get there. The efforts paid off.
Personally, you have become a potential starter in the “3&D” profile; was your 3-point progression the key to getting there?
It's certain. At the beginning of my career, it was not easy because it was a new position to learn. In my head, it was work. I knew that one day I was going to be able to shoot 3-pointers consistently. It's really about work and confidence.
You were part of Canada's great adventure at the last World Cup, notably beating France and winning the country's first international medal since 1936. And there are the Olympic Games looming, in France in Paris?
Yes, we are going to play in France. We're going to go out there and try to play for the gold medal. It's going to be crazy. And then, especially because we have guys who are really involved [avec une charte de trois ans]. From the beginning of summer [dernier], we all decided to put aside vacations and our families to be fully focused on Team Canada. We want to go [à Paris] and make our names part of history. At the World Cup, we didn't win gold but we still came home with bronze. We're still learning how to all play together, it was our first competition really with this group. We have a lot of chances to grow further.
Knowing that Team Canada has a real Thunder touch with your duo with Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander]…
That's it. You need a leader on every team. And when you have a leader like Shai, it's easy to follow him.
Comments collected in Oklahoma City
| Luguentz Dort | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2019-20 | OKAY | 36 | 23 | 39.4 | 29.7 | 79.2 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 6.8 |
| 2020-21 | OKAY | 52 | 30 | 38.7 | 34.3 | 74.4 | 0.7 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 14.0 |
| 2021-22 | OKAY | 51 | 33 | 40.4 | 33.2 | 84.3 | 0.8 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 17.2 |
| 2022-23 | OKAY | 74 | 31 | 38.8 | 33.0 | 77.2 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 4.7 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 13.7 |
| 2023-24 | OKAY | 33 | 29 | 45.9 | 41.8 | 83.1 | 1.3 | 2.7 | 4.1 | 1.4 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 11.2 |
| Total | 246 | 30 | 39.9 | 34.1 | 79.1 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 3.9 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 13.1 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
