“Daigneault on Lu Dort’s, Jalen Williams’ inclusion on All-Defense Team”
The Oklahoma City Thunder have had fairly a busy couple of days. At a person degree, they noticed franchise cornerstones get awarded for years of onerous work with trophies. From a crew degree, they noticed themselves inch nearer to a championship with a 2-0 series lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves within the Western Convention Finals.
Lower than a day after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was introduced because the 2024-25 NBA MVP, Lu Dort and Jalen Williams additionally acquired honors. Dort was named to the All-Defensive First Crew and Williams to the All-Defensive Second Crew.
It is about dang time. Dort has been one of many NBA’s prime perimeter defenders since he arrived in 2019. Ask Luka Doncic or Anthony Edwards how robust it’s to get him peeled off you, as he refuses to go beneath screens. There is a purpose why OKC’s league-best protection solely gave up a handful of 30-point scorers this season.
In the meantime, Williams took much less time to get acknowledged by the NBA world. The All-Star ahead has been OKC’s Swiss Military knife. It is a sports activities cliche, however he can guard all 5 positions and each spot on the courtroom. From the perimeter to deep contained in the paint.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault praised each gamers for his or her accomplishments. The Thunder had the NBA’s finest protection and sat atop most defensive classes. They’ve relied on their protection to gasoline their championship aspirations.
“The last couple of days have been reflective of the regular season we’ve had and the success the team had. It’s great to see some of the guys get recognized for that,” Daigneault mentioned. “I think of two things with that.”
Daigneault began off with Williams. He introduced up how he served as OKC’s heart when Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein have been concurrently out with accidents within the early portion of the season. Whereas not a sustainable long-term plan, the Thunder morphed right into a small-ball squad and did not miss a beat due to him.
“The first is early in the year, the wind was in our face in terms of having frontcourt players out. We didn’t have two healthy frontcourt players until the middle of the year. We had zero for a stretch of time. He was doing a lot of heavy lifting on the defensive end of the floor during that time,” Daigneault mentioned about Williams. “It’s easier to forget that now as we’re whole and as our team’s evolved. That was a huge critical point of the season for us. He really stabilized things for us with his defense, toughness, mental toughness night after night. It was so impressive to see.”
Then Daigneault talked about Dort’s rise from an undrafted rookie to a family title. The Thunder found a gem. He is been a longtime starter for the previous 5 years and has been OKC’s go-to defender for matchups in opposition to the opposition’s prime scorers.
“The only thing you need to know about Lu is how badly his teammates wanted him to get this,” Daigneault mentioned. “That speaks to just a boiling respect that exists in our locker room.”
The Thunder had one of many biggest defensive seasons ever. Paired with a top-five offense, that carried them to a historic 68-14 file. Profitable at that fee all the time comes with particular person accolades. It is solely honest to see them get a minimum of two representatives on the All-Defensive Groups.
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