Subscribe
Follow Us
LOS ANGELES, CA — When the Los Angeles Clippers traded for guard Kris Dunn last offseason, they were hopeful that an elite defender at the point guard position would lead to a better overall defensive team. Dunn, who had proven his two-way capabilities, was doing so on lottery teams like the Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers, and Chicago Bulls.
From a national perspective, his visibility was limited.
Under head coach Tyronn Lue, the Clippers had a plan for Kris Dunn before the 2024-25 season even started.
“My goal for him is to make First Team All-Defense,” Tyronn Lue told ClutchPoints during a phone interview in September 2024.
“Oh, he's going to play that much for you guys?” I responded.
“He will,” Lue said. “You'll see, Tomer.”
Kris Dunn proves he's worthy of All-Defensive Team
When Kris Dunn was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the fifth overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, expectations were high for the two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year. But the guard had to find his niche in the NBA.
“I knew defense was always going to be my calling card,” Kris Dunn told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview. “I've been told even when I was in high school that in order to get on the floor, you got to make sure you're good on defense. So that has always been my calling card, and then it took me years to develop even more in my offensive game.”
Dunn was drafted to a Timberwolves team trying to enter the playoff conversation, but without an established identity. A year into his career, he was included in the Jimmy Butler trade that sent him and Zach LaVine to the Chicago Bulls.
The guard out of Providence played well in the Windy City, but he struggled with injuries for a number of years before finding his footing in the G League.
“I watched a lot of film. I mean, I dealt with a lot of injuries throughout my career, too, that kind of hindered some of the things. But, you know, I watch a lot of film and just try to dissect on what my role could be in the league and watching other players — how they were successful. And, once I got to the G League, I kind of figure out my pace, my play, and being able to kind of find a role that I felt like would fit with any team.”
The Utah Jazz called up Dunn for the final stretch of the 2022-23 season, where he averaged 14.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.3 assists while shooting 55.5 percent from the field.
Dunn was acquired in the summer of 2024, signing a three-year, $16.2 million deal as part of the sign-and-trade that send Russell Westbrook to the Utah Jazz. The final year of this deal would reportedly become guaranteed if Dunn were named to an All-Defensive Team during the 2024-25 or 2025-26 seasons.
The Clippers had struggled for years with finding a playmaking point guard. Lue also needed someone to become the “head of the snake” for his defense against opposing teams' offenses.
The trade for James Harden knocked one of those out, but the team still needed a high-level defender in the backcourt who could run an offense and knock down open 3-point shots on offense.
Dunn averaged 6.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.7 steals in 24.1 minutes per game while shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 33.5 percent from three. However, anyone who watches Dunn consistently understands that his impact comes as a disruptor on the defensive end of the floor.
Making life extremely difficult for his opponent's best players is what Dunn accomplishes with ease every single night.
“We have James Harden and Kawhi [Leonard]; they're prolific scorers,” Dunn continued. “And we've got other scorers on the team, so I understand my role is to play defense and make sure I bring my defensive energy to every game. And then get guys involved, get guys the ball, and bring the energy.”
But where does that come from? For anyone who has played basketball, especially nowadays, a lot of this satisfaction comes from scoring the ball. A majority of young players like to get in their bag, showcase their offensive game in front of the Ball is Life crew, and let the Instagram videos do the talking for them.
For Dunn, it wasn't about the highlight reels and elite scoring. He took a lot of pride in his defensive abilities. Some would say Dunn took playing defense at a high-level personally — think Michael Jordan with the iPad in his hands during ‘The Last Dance.'
“Since I've been a kid, going to the parks and what not, I've never been the guy who'd like somebody to score on me and just start talking trash,” Dunn explained. “That's never been a thing of mine, and I think that's just the competitive nature in me. As kids, you score on somebody and you talk trash. I didn't like people talking trash. I think that's where I took joy into it.”
Dunn, who picked up the nickname “Smoke” growing up, acknowledged that part of his skills on the defensive end are simply gifts he was blessed with. But he also commits an immense amount of time to film and studying his opponents' strengths and weaknesses. It isn't always about watching different guys, but also picking up little things in their ball placement, their hip movement, and where they're more successful or comfortable versus where they are not.
“One is instincts. You know, that's a God-given ability. But then two — I read tendencies. Each and every player has tendencies. Some are better at hiding it than others, but everyone has tendencies, and I just try to focus on that. I think I can pick it up within a couple of trips down the floor. If I'm playing somebody one-on-one, they'll eventually show you their tendencies if they score four points in a row. You'll start to pick it up.
“[I do a lot of] watching film, watching other defensive guys in the league. I like to watch a lot of film and there are some guys in the league who are really good defensively. We have some on our team. And then there is practice. Take practice seriously — guarding and trying to keep working on my game. The main thing is just playing hard.”
While Dunn may not have lived up to what the general public believes a fifth-overall pick in the NBA Draft should look like, he has fought to build a solid NBA career for himself. More importantly, he's carved a niche that's grabbing national attention in the postseason.
“It's funny because I had to go through my own journey. I was on a lot of young teams, so we're all kind of going through it at the same time. Just trying to figure it out. And the biggest thing I learned is every team is different. Every team needs something different. Like Utah's situation as you brought up, if you look at the team, there's a lot of guy who need the ball in their hands. Well, there's only one basketball. So you can go out there and try to think and believe you're going to have the ball in your hands and try to go score 15, 20 points and try to be the star. And that's just not how it goes for certain players. Certain players get to have that opportunity and get to have that privilege.
“I think the best advice for any players is just understand the situation. Whatever they ask for you to do, you do it. You be a star in that role. And then through the years, you can slowly develop your game and try to do a little bit more.
“It starts from top to bottom. Every organization is different, every team is different, every coaching staff is different. You've got to learn how to navigate through it. I could be here and they tell me to do one role. I could go to another place and tell me to do another role. Can you adjust? Can you adapt? That's what it's about being in the NBA. But the main thing is being a pro's pro, right? You never know with the business. A lot of it is business. And you got to be able to stay and be professional in your environment.”
Kris Dunn is the latest proof of NBA's botched CBA
Kris Dunn finished the 2024-25 regular season having played 74 games for the LA Clippers, the most since his rookie year when he played 78 games. Dunn also started a whopping 58 games for the Clippers this season, 14 more than his previous career high of 44 starts in 2018-19 with the Chicago Bulls.
Despite playing 74 games, starting 58, and averaging 24.1 minutes a game, Dunn is ineligible to be named to an All-Defensive Team this season. The requirements for eligibility for All-NBA awards, according to the newly agreed upon Collective Bargaining Agreement, include playing at least 65 games with 20 or more minutes. Players are allowed two games with under 20 minutes, but also above 15 to remain eligible.
The problem is that Dunn only played 53 games with at least 20 minutes, making him ineligible for All-NBA awards pretty early in the season despite holding a significant role on the team.
Sounds frustrating, right? It gets worse.
Article Continues Below
The Clippers' starting guard played nine games of at least 19 minutes, but fewer than 20 minutes. He also had seven games of at least 18 minutes, but fewer than 19 minutes. Some of those games include:
— 19 minutes and 53 seconds played against the Raptors
— 19 minutes and 47 seconds played in a 31-point win over the Mavericks
— 19 minutes and 37 seconds played in games against the Thunder and Nuggets
— 19 minutes and 31 seconds played in a 25-point win over the Wizards
— 19 minutes and 22 seconds played in a 16-point win over the Pelicans
— 19 minutes and 15 seconds played in a 29-point win over the Blazers
Kris Dunn's agent, Bernie Lee, has been outspoken on social media about his disappointment in the new CBA affecting the guard's eligibility for an All-Defensive Team or even Defensive Player of the Year.
“I have felt for a few seasons now that this is seemingly a throw-away rule created as a reactionary narrative created over minutes limits and sports science and availability,” Lee said when reached out to by ClutchPoints for comment about Dunn's ineligibility due to the league's CBA. “I have never met a successful NBA player who didn’t want to compete and play and the fact that we allowed that desire to be measured in such an arbitrary way in the last CBA is something that needs to be addressed.
“An amazing part of sports is historical achievements and date. This year, three-fourths of the NBA is not eligible for very important awards. It devalues the awards themselves and also undercuts the character and fortitude of every player in this league to compete. Kris is going to miss out on an award that is he extremely deserving of all because of a throw away arbitrary caveat to the last CBA.
“It’s unfair.”
Lee isn't wrong. According to an end-of-season NBA awards tracker compiled and updated by NBA writer Justin Russo, only 84 players were eligible for NBA awards by the time the season ended.
As the season progressed, Lee noticed a trend in the guard's minutes. While winning and team success are the clear priorities for all parties, Lee says he's had conversations with the NBA and NBPA regarding the new eligibility requirements due to how limiting they've become.
“I tried to point out that Kris was on track to have about 8-12 games where he played over 19 minutes and under 20 so it was a matter of a ball going out of bounds 17 seconds later in some instances for him to be an All-NBA defender. It's an award with huge meaning to him personally that he was earning every night and I got nowhere, which was frustrating to say the least.
“If a player puts a uniform on and steps onto a floor for one second, it’s a game played. Period. Not only should there not be a game threshold to be eligible for awards, but there is no way there should be a minutes threshold for the very same awards.”
Dunn finished seventh with 236 deflections this season, tying Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo's 236 deflections despite playing 891 fewer minutes. In fact, Dunn has by far the fewest minutes played of any player in the top 10 for total deflections this season. And when adjusting the deflection totals to per-36 minutes, Dunn would be third in the league behind only Dyson Daniels and Keon Ellis.
Kris Dunn was second in the league in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus this season at +3.5, trailing only Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso at +3.9 and ahead of Detroit Pistons guard/forward Ausar Thompson at +3.3 for third place, according to Dunks and Threes.
“Kris has proven himself repeatedly to be one of the best if not the best point of attack defenders in the league. The analytics point this out as does the eye test. It’s gratifying to me as I see how hard he works and how much being an elite defender means to him. He’s a throwback in a version of the NBA that has placed such an emphasis on offense in that he takes his match up so personally. It speaks to his character and will to win.”
Dunn also forced opponents to shoot 3.1 percent worse when he was their defender versus their average shooting percentages, according to NBA Stats. That includes holding opponents to shooting 3.8 percent worse inside of 10 feet and 2.2 percent worse when he was their defender versus their average.
Dunn also finished fourth on the Clippers in individual net rating this season at +5.5 behind Ivica Zubac (+12.8), Kawhi Leonard (+10.7), and Norman Powell (+7.4).
With Kris Dunn on the floor this season, Clippers’ opponents had a half-court offensive rating that was 6.2 points worse compared to the minutes he was off the floor.
On multiple levels, Kris Dunn has shown his value on both ends of the floor as a high-level disruptor, knockdown shooter, and playmaker. The only difference is the stage he's on — a 50-win team with very real championship aspirations for the first time in his NBA career.
“In my opinion, I've been showing this since I've been in the league,” Dunn added. “People don't really know my Chicago [Bulls] days, but before I got injured, I was leading he league in steals. It's no different. I think the platform is different. I think the group that we have around is different, the coaching staff, they allowed me to be me.”
As for not qualifying for an All-Defensive Team, Dunn expressed some disappointment, but didn't have too much to say on it as his focus has shifted to the NBA postseason.
“It's a goal of mine,” Dunn told ClutchPoints. “It's been a goal of mine since I've been in the league, but I just do what I do.”
In the meantime, Dunn remains focused on his first round matchup against Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic.
This is insane from Dunn… pic.twitter.com/Myncx6Dh69
— Coach Gibson Pyper (@HalfCourtHoops) April 22, 2025
Dunn was doing cool defensive shit all game. Forces Jokic to give up the ball and then baits him into a turnover https://t.co/2reyIJ9eBV pic.twitter.com/aalEYjkfxM
— Owen Phillips (@owenlhjphillips) April 22, 2025
