Ahead by two (102-100) with 2:13 left to play in a 112-107 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder starter Lu Dort's missed three-point attempt would have given his team a five-point lead. Instead, a 12-5 Timberwolves run sealed the Thunder’s second loss in three games. Dort finished 3-for-10 from deep, including a second missed three-point attempt when Oklahoma City trailed 105-103.
Dort shot at a higher 3-point shooting clip against the Timberwolves than his season average (29.8%). At the same time, third-year guard Cason Wallace is making a strong case to be the Thunder’s starting guard of the future. Starting in 25 of 27 Thunder games this season, Wallace leads the league in steals per game (2.4), while averaging 8.0 points on 42.5% shooting, including 38.5% from behind the three-point arc.
While the production is not a humongous difference to Dort’s 7.7 points per game on 35.0/29.8/93.8 shooting splits, there’s a case to be made that Wallace is an upgrade. It’s also worth noting that we’re only 28 games into the regular season, and Dort, dealing with a right adductor strain, has only played in 19 of them — still, Lu’s production dips to 6.3 points on 38.1% shooting in December.
Wallace struggled off the bench in the Thunder’s five-point loss to the Timberwolves. In fact, the only two games where Wallace didn’t start resulted in losses, including a 111-109 defeat to the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup semifinals. It’s a small sample size, of course, but Cason averaged 4.5 points on 30.0% shooting, including 16.7% from deep.
Revered as one of the team’s founding fathers of this current Thunder regime, Dort has earned the benefit of doubt amid an early-season slump, but for how long? 28 games into 2025-26 is still relatively soon, especially for a defending champion with 25 wins. Either way, it’s an ideal problem most NBA teams would love to have.
Cason Wallace emerges as one of Thunder’s better defenders
Third-year guard Cason Wallace is now considered to be one of the defending champions’ better on-ball defenders, a title Thunder’s Lu Dort undisputably earned years ago. But times are changing amid a definitive championship window. Wallace takes pride in the Thunder’s top-ranked defense, one of the foundations of which Dort helped lay since 2019.
The offseason additions of veterans Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso accentuated the Thunder’s defensive identity, which led to a championship run in 2024-25. It also helped Wallace blossom into the defender he is today. Caruso instilled in Cason the importance of film study as a means of gaining a competitive advantage. Coach Mark Daigneault encouraged Wallace to pass up fewer threes, which led to a spike in his 4.0 attempts this season.
Much like Dort, the defensive end of the floor is where Wallace hangs his hat, and it’s where he’s built a tremendous reputation for the Thunder, albeit in Daigneault’s starting lineup or off the bench.
“A lot of energy. Everybody knows we take pride in defense, and we’re all competing over there,” Wallace said after a 122-101 win against the Clippers. “Just playing hard and having fun.”
The Thunder forced the Clippers into a stunning 28 turnovers, the most any team has committed this season. For the third time this season, Wallace finished with a season-high five steals. He’s tallied a whopping 19 swipes in his last five games.
“It feels like we’re taking life from the other team and they’re ready to quit,” Wallace added. “So, when we get teams to that point, it makes the game more fun.”
While the shorthanded Thunder will enter Monday’s matchup against the Grizzlies with an extended list of injuries, including starting center Hartenstein, Caruso, and Aaron Wiggins, Daigneault will most likely start Dort and Wallace as he did against the Clippers (without Hartenstein).
Still, when the Thunder roster is at full strength, it’ll be interesting to see if Wallace cements a starting role or if Dort will remain a pillar in Daigneault’s OG starting five alongside Hartenstein, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren.
