Lu Dort has a career game against the Houston Rockets, dropping 30 points, leading his team in scoring. He equalled LeBron James and Kobe Bryant in a unique record.
Oklahoma City Thunder’s Lu Dort just had the greatest game of his life in the most important game of his life.
With all the talk surrounding the 35 year old Chris Paul, the talk of the night has been the undrafted rookie, Luguentz Dort, as he dropped 30 point against the title contenders, Houston Rockets.
Despite his career game, OKC went on to lose 104-102. Dort was seen being emotional during his post game conference.
Lu Dort didn’t hold back tears after the game talking about what this team and this season meant to him. #Thunder pic.twitter.com/9uVE4W768m
— Dylan Buckingham (@DylanBuckingham) September 3, 2020
Lu Dort equals LeBron James and Kobe Bryant
All eyes were on Lu Dort this game as he simply could not miss from 3, dropping 6 3s on 50% from beyond the arc. This comes after shooting 0-9 from 3 in Game 5. He was also great on cutting to the basket from the baseline as he dropped a 30 piece in his first Game 7.
Also Read: Chris Paul slams Scott Foster for bias and ‘delay of game’ violation in Game 7 vs Rockets
Dort also entered elite company, by becoming only the 3rd player after Kobe Bryant and LeBron James to score 25+ points in a Game 7 whilst being less than 21 years old.
Lu Dort joined elite company after Game 7. pic.twitter.com/6VKR1pSF0v
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 3, 2020
He is also the only OKC player other than Kevin Durant to notch 30+ points in Game 7.
Most points by an OKC player in a Game 7:
39 — Kevin Durant
33 — Kevin Durant
30 — Luguentz Dort pic.twitter.com/QiUJY9blEZ— StatMuse (@statmuse) September 3, 2020
It is sort of ironic in a way that throughout the series, Lu Dort has been known to play solid defense on James Harden but the series ended on Lu Dort attempting a 3 and Harden playing solid defense on Dort, blocking his shot.
Series on the line … Harden had clamps. pic.twitter.com/0CQ4UAtAfu
— ESPN (@espn) September 3, 2020
Will Lu Dort be a star in the NBA?
It is no doubt that Dort is a menace when it comes to on-ball defense. The way Dort fights through screens to get to his man would make you think he’s been in the league far longer than just 1 year.
James Harden gave his props to the G-League alum, saying, “He worked his butt off. He’s going to have a great career.”
It should also be noted that OKC has Lu Dort under contract for $5.4 million for the next 4 seasons. This could easily turn into one of the greatest rookie contracts of all time if Dort continues to improve his offensive game.
