Chris Dunn: Going from top talent to defensive sharp swords!

. From defensive rotation, second-tier assisted defense to one-on-one single defense, it has stable value in many aspects, which is enough to make him a high-quality defender with strong interference and ability to switch defenses and multiple positions.

Judging from the high-level data of playing for the Clippers this season, Dunn is 4 points apart every 100 rounds on the court, and his defensive efficiency, defensive points loss positive and negative values, and steals per game are ranked first in the team, and his defensive victory contribution is second only to Zubac. This season, the Clippers are at the top of the league in team defense, and Dunn is the top priority.

Another point is that Dunn has begun to gain some space to optimize his weaknesses in recent years, especially ball-holding organization and outside shooting, which has made significant progress in recent years.

Especially after joining the Jazz in 2022, the point guard has begun to become calm and mature and can face the same tactics in different ways. After balancing the defensive attention he attracted, he is still not a good passer, but he is now gradually starting to play the value of passing in college.

Dunn's shooting and three-point shooting percentages reached 49.7% and 39.5% respectively in the Jazz's two seasons. Although he is not a ball-holder in offense, he is not a stable shooter, and his ability to cause fouls is relatively low. But his most prominent feature is that although his offensive efficiency is relatively low, he rarely steals the show on the offensive end.

When he handed over the heavy responsibility of organizational offense to other defenders, Dunn himself focused on defensive sweeping, which is the key that many playoff teams with star players need.

In 2025, the Clippers signed Dunn with 17 million in three years in the form of signing first and then exchange, mainly because of the medium-sized defensive potential that can make up for Harden. Dunn's defensive efficiency value this season is 107.8. Looking at the entire league, among all players who played for at least 1,500 minutes, Dunn's defensive efficiency value is only behind Alexander, ranking second in the league.

As long as you can maintain a strong defense and learn to read the game, it doesn't matter even if the outside shooting rate declines. After all, the Clippers don't need him to be a shooter. As long as you can have a certain shooting threat, the team can still accept his occasional mistakes and offensive shortcomings.

Referring to the last game of the 2024-25 season, the Clippers faced the Warriors' Western Conference pick-up match. Dunn was responsible for the match against Curry in the whole game. He played for 35 minutes, made 3 of 3 three-pointers and scored 11 points, 6 assists and 3 steals. His strong defense also put Curry in the face of pressure for a while, and made up as many as 8 mistakes in the whole game.

"Dunn is really tough, has a good physical fitness, has a long wingspan, has fast movements, and is also very resilient. He knows what he should do on the court. Even if he doesn't make many offensive moves, his contribution on the defensive end cannot be ignored. He made me feel very uncomfortable all night. Even if I score points, he cannot ignore his defensive intensity and interference."

This is the evaluation given by Stephen Curry after the game on the spot.

Coincidentally, Simmons is still in the Clippers this season. The No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft. Compared with Dunn, who was fifth overall, the No. 1 pick did not get any chance to play in the playoffs. On the contrary, Dunn has become an indispensable key puzzle for the team.

Compared with Dunn's expectations before the draft, a slight mistake was that after he brought his pre-draft defensive advantage to the NBA, his remaining potential was not stable, which also made him gradually become a role player under the expectations of the main defender who was the fifth pick. His growth template also gradually relegated from John Wall to Tony Allen at the beginning.

Although it seems to be a bit unsatisfactory, it is also an advantage to some extent. Even though Dunn was unable to become a star player, he had the capital to survive longer in the NBA, which was also his second chance.