{"id":617146,"date":"2026-04-19T13:13:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T13:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/617146\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T13:13:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T13:13:16","slug":"how-lu-dorts-on-court-tenacity-is-driven-by-off-court-purpose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/617146\/","title":{"rendered":"How Lu Dort\u2019s on-court tenacity is driven by off-court purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n The NBA<\/a> regular season is in the rearview, the playoff bracket is set, and for the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, the journey back to the mountaintop really begins.\n <\/p>\n

\n Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will understandably command much of the spotlight. The reigning NBA MVP<\/a> \u2013 who is the frontrunner for the award yet again \u2013 is having a 31.1 ppg season<\/a>, his fourth straight year averaging over 30 a game.\n <\/p>\n

\n But as the old adage goes: Offense wins games, defense wins championships.\n <\/p>\n

\n And that\u2019s where Lu Dort steps in.\n <\/p>\n

\n The 6-foot-4 guard \u2013 who was selected to the NBA All-Defensive First Team last season and placed fourth<\/a> in Defensive Player of the Year voting \u2013 was a key cog in the OKC team that lifted the Larry O\u2019Brien Trophy as their primary defensive stopper.\n <\/p>\n

\n This season, the Thunder \u2013 who clinched the No. 1 seed in a tough Western Conference for the third straight season with a league-leading 64\u201318 record \u2013 unsurprisingly also had the No. 1-ranked defense<\/a> yet again, with a rating of 106.5.\n <\/p>\n

\n And despite having a plethora of options to utilize on the defensive end alongside Dort, including 7-foot-1 Chet Holmgren and the ever-improving Cason Wallace, head coach Mark Daigneault still placed the toughest assignments on the recently turned 27-year-old\u2019s broad shoulders.\n <\/p>\n

\n The kid who sat in the crowd and didn\u2019t hear his name called at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on draft night in 2019 hasn\u2019t done too bad for himself.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cMy journey wasn\u2019t easy,\u201d Dort told CNN Sports<\/a> ahead of the playoffs. \u201cThere\u2019s not a lot of kids that make it to the NBA from Montreal, so just that step was big.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cAnd the fact that this organization and (Thunder Executive Vice President & General Manager) Sam Presti trusted in me when I went undrafted and gave me a chance.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a lot of blocks, and I\u2019m trying to step over them every time. But if I had to talk back to the younger Lu as of right now, I\u2019m real proud of him.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"Dort<\/p>\n

\n For Dort, it\u2019s about more than just making an impact on the hardwood. The journey from undrafted prospect in 2019 to becoming an NBA champion in 2025 was only half the story.\n <\/p>\n

\n He was born and raised in Montreal \u2013 specifically in a borough called Montr\u00e9al-Nord \u2013 to parents who immigrated from Haiti to Canada in their 20s. As he wrote in The Players\u2019 Tribune<\/a>: \u201cSeeing everything they had to go through to start a new life, I learned that everything has to be earned through hard work. Nothing\u2019s given. Words I live by.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n To understand where Dort is now, you have to understand where he came from. The competitive fervor he brings to the court every night can\u2019t be taught; the get-it-out-the-mud mentality he has can\u2019t just be developed like getting shots up in the gym \u2013 you either have it or you don\u2019t.\n <\/p>\n

\n That fire inside Dort was lit way back in the spring of \u201999.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cBasketball was my way out,\u201d he said in The Players\u2019 Tribune. Now, he\u2019s using basketball to give back through The Maizon Dort Foundation<\/a>, an organization he set up to support underserved communities in Montreal, Oklahoma City, and central Arizona, where he spent a year in college with the Arizona State Sun Devils in 2018.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWhen I made it to the league, my biggest goal was to go back to my community and give back,\u201d he told CNN.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI didn\u2019t think I would be in this position one day. And I feel like when I was young, I wish I would have been part of somebody\u2019s foundation, or community events that could stick (with me) for the rest of my life.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cSo whenever I have a chance to give back to my community, I always do it and it\u2019s always great to do it.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Dort\u2019s foundation not only provides opportunities through sports, but also through creative expression and academic support \u2013 because there\u2019s another side to the grit and grind of that fierce competitor we see on the court.\n <\/p>\n

\"Dort<\/p>\n

\n The foundations first \u201cPitch Day<\/a>,\u201d hosted on April 3 in Oklahoma City, highlighted the duality of Dort. With the NBA star in attendance, organizations presented ideas for \u201cCreation Stations,\u201d with the winner receiving up to $20,000 in funding to support local students.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019m a learner, and I\u2019m really curious to learn a lot and create at the same time,\u201d he explained.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cObviously, I\u2019m a basketball player, but there\u2019s way more in life. Kids don\u2019t want to be just athletes, they want to do so much more, and creativity is a big part of life in general.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cSo to be able to open that door for them is great and I\u2019m really big on that. The Pitch Day was amazing and some of the stuff presented was great.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n For those who do want to try to follow in Dort\u2019s footsteps and pursue pro sports, the 27-year-old hosts an annual basketball camp every summer through his foundation, fittingly called the \u201cLu The Beast Camp<\/a>,\u201d which has run every year since 2021.\n <\/p>\n

\n This summer, however, looks set to be especially busy for him.\n <\/p>\n

\n The NBA star has a deep passion for soccer \u2013 a sport he played growing up in Montreal before picking up basketball \u2013 and the timing couldn\u2019t be better.\n <\/p>\n

\n The upcoming FIFA World Cup<\/a> is not only being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and his beloved Canada, but he also has two horses in the race, as Haiti has also qualified for the tournament for only the second time, last appearing on the Beautiful Game\u2019s grandest stage back in 1974.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cObviously, both of my countries are in, so if I have the chance to go to any game \u2013 especially Canada or Haiti \u2013 I would go.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI also know a couple players. Me and (Haiti striker Duckens) Nazon have been cool for a long time, and (Bayern Munich<\/a> defender) Alphonso Davies is the biggest star in soccer in Canada right now.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cSoccer is big, especially the World Cup. I feel like at a young age everybody used to watch the World Cup.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cSo now, it\u2019s not too far in America and Canada, it would be great to go see them play.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n And if Dort\u2019s offseason schedule wasn\u2019t busy enough, he also likes to use that time to lean into another passion of his: fashion.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019m into fashion a lot. It\u2019s another side of creativity of mine,\u201d he highlighted.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to attending shows (in Paris and New York), and continuing to explore brands like Thom Browne, Willy Chavarria, Ralph Lauren, Rick Owens, Calvin Klein, and others.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cTo see some of these brands, how they be rolling and how they work, would be amazing.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe\u2019ll see how the season ends, but I would definitely like to go over there.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"Dort<\/p>\n

Keeping focus on the main thing<\/p>\n

\n A foundation supporting underserved youths across two countries; a timely passion for soccer with two national teams playing at this summer\u2019s World Cup; and a love for fashion that will take him within a few feet of runways in the US and across the Atlantic.\n <\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s so much bigger than basketball for Lu Dort.\n <\/p>\n

\n But through it all, he never forgets what put him in the position where he is today. \u201cI don\u2019t get a lot of stuff I got now without basketball \u2013 basketball is always going to be number one no matter what,\u201d he explained.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI try to try to remind myself of that every single time. It\u2019s really a mindset, a focus.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n That focus now shifts to Game 1 against the Phoenix Suns at Paycom Center, where OKC\u2019s raucous fans will be riled up and ready.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI said so many times we have the best fans and arena environment in the whole league.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThey know how much we care about them, and we know how much they care about us. It\u2019s so fun to play at home. The energy they bring is crazy. We just love it.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n And they love him. Because, as noted earlier, this is a get-it-out-the-mud type of guy.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cEarned not given\u201d \u2013 the mantra he lives by.\n <\/p>\n

\n So beware when driving to the basket \u2013 that handle better be extra tight. Have your feet firmly planted and keep your head on a swivel when setting that screen. And be ready to pull the trigger extra quickly from beyond the arc \u2013 because \u201cThe Dorture Chamber\u201d is back for business. Not that it was ever closed, but it runs a bit differently this time of year.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWhat we did last year was big, but we have a chance to do it again and, obviously, we\u2019ll go for it.\n <\/p>\n

\"Dort<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019m proud to be on this team. Proud of some of the stuff we\u2019ve achieved so far, and proud of some of the stuff we\u2019ll achieve again.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The playoffs are here and Dort & Co. just clocked in. Good luck stopping them.\n <\/p>\n