Anthony Edwards can do anything with the basketball. Be it flashy dunks, driving into the paint like a freight train, or shooting deep 3s, Ant-Man is a whiz at it all. But tonight, we saw him meet his match in the form of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Lu Dort. And let’s just say this battle had a clear victor. But the thing is, Lu employed some less-than-safe methods to stop Ant. And after the game, he revealed where he stood on the whole thing. As for Edwards, he was left revisiting his statement from last year after watching Dort defend Luka Doncic: “I thought he should’ve been on one of the Defensive Teams, for sure”. 

You see, Dort and his team weren’t able to stop Ant-Man from exploding in the previous game. He put 30 past them as the Timberwolves cruised to a dominant 143-101 victory. Following the humiliating loss, when asked about how Ant popped off in that game, MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said, “With good players, you can’t you can’t let them get comfortable early.” And it seems Lu Dort took his teammate’s words to heart as he suffocated Anthony Edwards in Game 4.

After tonight’s game, he revealed how he stopped Ant during the latest chapter in their rivalry. “Honestly, just really matching his intensity. I mean, obviously, he was really, really aggressive in game three. And, yeah, just knowing that he didn’t take so many shots in the first two games. But my main thing is to just stay in front of him and make everything tough. And that was my main focus tonight… Don’t think it’s anything personal… They’re the main guy, and they wanna have the ball most of the time. So, every time we can make it tough for them to either shoot the ball or take a shot, we’ll do that,” said Dort.

And he definitely made things “tough” for Ant. After all, the Wolves’ shooting guard was barely able to cross the halfway line without Lu breathing down his neck. So it’s no surprise that he went 5-13 from the field tonight, scoring 16 points in 41 minutes of play. And the positions Dort put him in also affected his shooting from beyond the arc, as he only scored 1-7. This is the same guy who scored 320 3-pointers in the regular season, making that the seventh highest total in NBA history.

While Dort’s defense of Ant was impeccable tonight, there were some, let’s just say, controversial actions tonight. A user on X compiled several moments from tonight’s game that saw Dort literally diving at players’ ankles in the name of defense. In one of these plays, he and Jaden McDaniels went for a loose ball, looked particularly bad as he literally tried to sweep Jaden off his feet. But that’s just how aggressive Lu was tonight in making sure that the Timberwolves couldn’t build any momentum at all.

Aside from the accusations of “dirty” play by fans online, tonight’s performance proved one thing. Lu Dort is among the best defenders in the league. And that’s why, rather unsurprisingly, the NBA chose to give him his flowers.

“Lockdown Lu” is a real thing now as Lu Dort makes the NBA All-Defensive team

Tonight wasn’t a one-off. The Oklahoma City Thunder finished as the top seed this season thanks to Lu Dort’s consistent showings on defense. They also have him to thank for how they finished their season with a best-in-the-league defensive rating of 106.6 and how they let opponents score 30+ points just 12 times, again, an NBA best. With all these accolades, it’s no wonder that the league recognized his extreme defensive acumen this year.

Luguentz Dort made the NBA All-Defensive First Team for the first time this year. He was joined by fellow stoppers Draymond Green, 2025 DPOY Evan Mobley, Dyson Daniels, and Amen Thompson. And one cannot argue that Lu didn’t deserve it. After all, “Lockdown Lu” was getting DPOY shouts all year. Since he didn’t get that honor, this is the next best thing for a defender of his caliber.

Dort’s teammate, Jalen Williams, who advocated for Dort becoming DPOY this year, also made it to the All-Defensive second team. Becoming just the fifth and sixth players to do so in Thunder history, their inclusion notably marks the first time two Thunder players have made it in the same season.

But considering the way OKC defended tonight, is it really a surprise? Their lockdown defense of Ant-Man showed that they can force a bad night out of anyone in the NBA. And even better, they’re only one win away from reaching the NBA Finals.  If Dort shows up with the same energy as tonight, Game 5 may already be in the bag for the Thunder!