The 2024-25 NBA season is officially underway, marking another fulfilling year of partnership for Lu Dort and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
As two of the longest-tenured members of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the upcoming season means more than anything for them as they welcome a new chapter of their bond on and off the court.
Both players had each other's backs in all circumstances, and they rallied together as real brothers in leading OKC towards success.
A dramatic growth
No other member of Oklahoma City other than Dort profoundly knows and understands SGA. They were there in OKC's groundbreaking rally in 2019-20, stuck around the franchise's humbling rebuild for a significant stretch, and went on to be the driving forces of the team's season of revelation from last year.
Both of them witnessed the rapid changes that the entire organization underwent in the last five years, and Dort is simply amazed at how Shai, as the face of Thunder basketball, played an instrumental role in all of these.
As such, Dort fondly reflected on SGA's dramatic growth in his recent appearance on the TBU Podcast.
"It's been really impressive to see how far he's got, how every year he's coming back and he's got better. As a friend and teammate as well, it's amazing to see his growth and, especially on his leadership side, too. Like how he helps the team really get along with each other," he said of Gilgeous-Alexander.
"I know he got way more [to go]. He's shown a lot, but I know he got way more," Dort added.
A superb leader
How things have turned out for SGA in Oklahoma City is genuinely bewildering. From being one of the main pieces acquired by the team from the Los Angeles Clippers to land the blockbuster trade for Paul George, he now stands as an absolute star and one of the best players in the world who promisingly spearheads the Thunder.
But beyond the intriguing on-court wonder and development that Shai pursued, Dort is even more impressed about how the Canadian sensation fully embraced being a standout leader, setting a positive culture everyone in the club has been savoring.
"It's just amazing how Shai, from his leadership, it's crazy how he kind of brings everybody on board with him. Everybody feels positive and confident around some guys like that," Dort added. "It's great."
OKC is blessed to have a franchise cornerstone like SGA, which sets and leads by example. For this 2024-25 season, we can only hope that everything he's providing for the Thunder will be rewarded in the best ways possible, both individually and collectively.
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