Lu Dort's Improved Shooting a Welcome Sight for OKC Thunder

Luguentz Dort’s offense has always been his weakness, but he may be turning a corner in one aspect.

While the Oklahoma City Thunder lost their game against the Golden State Warriors, Dort showed off his improvement from beyond the arc. Including a third-quarter back-and-forth with Stephen Curry, Dort finished with 29 points.

Dort also went 6-of-6 from 3-point range to match his season-high in makes from the past two seasons. While Dort’s big night from deep was a highlight for the Thunder in their loss, this was a continuation of what he has done from there this season.

Coming into the game, Dort had quietly shot 41.7% on 3-pointers in the first five games. His shooting has helped the Thunder get three wins early in the season.

A late 3-pointer from him in Cleveland helped Oklahoma City spark a late comeback in its second game of the season. And with two in the season opener, Dort was one of eight Oklahoma City players with multiple makes from deep in Chicago.

Through six games, Dort has been assisted on 93.8% of his makes from beyond the arc. While that number is only slightly higher than last season, his ability to be a reliable spot-up shooter for the Thunder has been significant.

This season, Dort leads the Thunder in 3-point makes and is second in attempts to Isaiah Joe. Dort’s hot start from outside is a stark contrast to how he began the 2022-23 campaign.

In his first six games last season, Dort made just six 3-pointers, as many as he made in his sixth game this season. Yet, Dort had taken more shots from outside to begin last season, going 6-of-35, good for 17.1%.

Dort has also flipped his shot makeup this season. He has taken more than 55% of his shots from 3-point range this season compared to less than half of his attempts being from outside last season.

While Dort has shot a blistering 53.3% from outside to start the season, that number is destined to drop. Still, if Dort can maintain anything close to that percentage from deep with his current volume, the Thunder could have an unexpected weapon from 3-point range all season.