Luguentz Dort made the All-Defensive First Team in 2025 and has been a key member in the Thunder's success. Cole Burston / Getty ImagesJune 29, 2026 Updated 5:08 pm EDTThe Oklahoma City Thunder are picking up the team option on Luguentz Dort’s contract, the team announced on Monday.Exercising the option, worth $17.7 million, means that Dort and back-to-back NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander remain the longest-tenured players on Oklahoma City’s roster. Both were acquired in the summer of 2019. Dort joined the organization as an undrafted free agent out of Arizona State and carved out a reputation as a defensive stalwart that saw him go from a two-way contract to a coveted starter.The 27-year-old became one of the pillars of OKC’s culture and one of SGA’s most beloved teammates after the two lived together in their early days with the Thunder. In 2025, he was named to the All-Defensive First Team. The Thunder won the title that summer.
Dort earned an eventual payday for his sturdiness and physicality, but he also became a respectable shooter. That efficiency dipped this past season, though, as he shot a career-low 38.5 percent from the field and just 34.4 percent from deep, down from 40.3 percent over the previous two seasons.NBA Player Tiers 2026: Who is in Tier 5?Law MurrayHe still started in all 69 of his regular-season appearances, averaging 8.3 points and 3.6 assists. He also started in all 15 of his postseason appearances. In OKC’s seven-game Western Conference finals loss to the San Antonio Spurs, Dort played four of his lowest minute totals of the postseason.Still, even during a relative down season, Dort’s prominence in OKC’s defense remains. He’s flanked by more individually talented defenders than ever, with Cason Wallace disrupting ballhandlers and Alex Caruso as versatile as any of the team’s guard defenders. But Dort still often remains Mark Daigneault’s choice to defend top scoring options.Dort will be returning to a team that’s already made multiple financially influenced moves this offseason. The Thunder traded guards Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins to the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks, respectively, shedding their contracts to try to duck under the NBA’s punitive second-apron threshold. They also agreed to decline the $28.5 million team option on the third year of Isaiah Hartenstein’s previous deal to bring him back on a deal worth $25 million in annual value.Jun 29, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms
