There's a line between hard-nosed defense and dirty basketball. Lu Dort crossed it a long time ago, and last night against the Denver Nuggets, he did it again.
Video from the Thunder-Nuggets game shows Dort appearing to intentionally extend his leg to trip Nikola Jokić, the league's reigning MVP and one of the most dominant players in basketball. It's the latest in a disturbing pattern of dangerous plays from the Oklahoma City defender that has former players, coaches, and fans calling for the league to step in.
Let me be clear: I respect hustle. I respect physical defense. I respect players who leave everything on the floor. But what Dort is doing isn't hustle - it's reckless. It's dangerous. And someone's going to get seriously hurt if the NBA doesn't do something about it.
The video doesn't lie. Watch the alternate angle - Dort extends his leg as Jokić is moving, clearly trying to trip the Nuggets star. This isn't a basketball play. This is the kind of thing that can end careers.
And it's not an isolated incident. Social media is filled with compilations of Dort going after players' legs - Kevin Durant, Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Ingram, Kyrie Irving. The list goes on. At some point, you can't call it coincidence anymore.
"That's not basketball," Shaquille O'Neal said on Inside the NBA. "You don't go after guys' legs like that. That's how people get hurt. The league needs to look at this."
Charles Barkley agreed, adding:
