The Oklahoma City Thunder will enter the 2025-26 regular season as the reigning NBA champions. Fresh off one of the greatest years ever, it’ll be quite the feat to follow up on what they accomplished. They had a historic 68-14 record and brought home the Larry O’Brien trophy.
Celebrating their NBA championship, the Thunder made quick work of their offseason tasks. They signed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren to contract extensions. That should keep OKC in the title picture for the foreseeable future.
To prepare for the 2025-26 regular season, Thunder Wire will break down all five positional groups. Here’s what they have to look forward to from their shooting guard position:
Starter: Lu Dort
One of the longest tenured Thunder players, this has been Dort’s spot for a while. Expect that to continue. He had a career season where he was named a first-time All-Defense Team member and finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year. He was also a 40% outside shooter on decent volume. He’s been one of OKC’s best developmental stories.
The Thunder campaigned for Dort to win the prestigious defensive award. He fell short, but showed what they think of him. He was the face of one of the greatest defenses ever. Anytime an opposing top scorer came to town, it was his responsibility to shut them down. It resulted in OKC only giving up a handful of 30-point scorers last year. There’s no reason to think he’ll slow down this upcoming season.
Depth behind Dort
This might be the Thunder’s deepest position. Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace are the other two high-end perimeter defenders. Paired with Dort, they make OKC’s three-headed defensive monster. Both players would start on any other team in the league. The former has been one of the best defensive players of the past decade. The latter could join that group in the upcoming decade.
There is also Isaiah Joe. He has carved out a rotation spot on the Thunder. You could argue he’s their best pure outside shooter. He had a career season as he shot 41% from the outside on over six attempts. Even with his playoff struggles, you take that production in the regular season.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: 2025-26 OKC Thunder positional preview: Lu Dort, shooting guards
