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Luguentz Dort of the Oklahoma City Thunder offered some contrition on Tuesday, four days after his flagrant 2 foul on Nikola Jokić during a 127-121 win against the Denver Nuggets. Dort reported he crossed a line on the play, which he described as “unnecessary” and led to his ejection. 

“It was a physical game throughout the whole game,” Dort told The Athletic’s Joel Lorenzi after Oklahoma City’s 116-108 win against the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday. “Obviously, that was unnecessary contact that I shouldn’t have done. I got the worst of it by getting thrown out the game. But yeah, it was a high-level game. I’m a competitor, so I compete.”

Dort added: “That’s a physical game and there’s limits to it. And I went over the limit.”

In the fourth quarter against Denver, Dort tripped Jokić in the backcourt and was assessed a flagrant 2 after a replay review. Jokić was visibly furious, and later called it an “unnecessary move.” Denver coach David Adelman called it a “cheap shot.” 

“They were right,” Dort told The Athletic. “That was an unnecessary move by me, something I shouldn’t have done.”

On the subject of that particular play, Dort did not try to defend himself. He did, however, push back on the idea that he is a dirty player.

“I don’t think I’m dirty,” he reported. “I can’t control media. Media always wants to have some type of attention or anything. They want that buzz. I can’t control that. I’ve been doing well with this organization for years now.
I’m happy with how I play and what I do with my teammates. I go out there, compete every night. So I’m gonna keep doing what I do on the court, and then let the media judge the way they want to judge.”

No player wants that label. Even Bill Laimbeer rejected it. And if Dort doesn’t want it attached to his name, he’ll have to avoid plays like that going forward.