The LA Clippers are planning to bring Kris Dunn off the bench to begin the 2025-26 season. On October 9, 2025, Grant Mona tweeted that Kris Dunn was practicing with the second unit.
Eight hours later, he came off the bench in the Clippers’ first pre-season game against the Guangzhou Loong Lions. The team’s decision to utilize him in the second unit will cause them to perform worse.
Last season, the Clippers were one of the best defenses in the league. They ranked in the top ten in multiple defensive categories, such as points allowed and opponents’ field goal percentage. LA held opponents to 108.2 points, shooting 46.1% from the field on 85.8 attempts per game. Dunn was the driving force behind the team’s excellent defensive performance.
Kris Dunn Significantly Improved LA’s Defense
Kris Dunn was inserted into the starting lineup before game 12 of the regular season on November 13, 2024. During the next 70 games, the team allowed 108 points on 46% shooting on 85.9 attempts per game, fourth best in the league.
After he entered the starting lineup, Kris Dunn played 24.6 minutes per game. During those minutes, opponents scored 54.4 points, shooting 46.3% on 43.3 attempts per game. The Clippers were 17 games above 500 with him in the starting lineup.
Before Kris Dunn was inserted into the starting lineup, the starters were giving up 72.2 points on 48.9% shooting on 53.3 attempts per game, which was the 15th best in the league. The team was one game over 500 after eleven games.
A potential counting point to these statistics is that Kawhi Leonard played in many games where he was in the starting lineup. Yes, that would be correct, hence I’m going to provide statistics before Leonard returns to the lineup.
Kawhi Leonard returned to the lineup on January 4, 2025, meaning that he did not participate in Dunn’s first 23 games as a starter. Kris played 25 minutes per game, holding players to 45.8% shooting on 44.1 attempts. Opposing teams averaged 54.5 points during his minutes.
Kris Dunn’s defense contributed to the starting lineup holding opponents to 62.8 points, with a 45.3% shooting percentage on 51.4 attempts, second best in the league. During this span, the team won three games over 500 with a record of 13 wins and 10 losses.
Dunn’s Defense in Action
You are most likely asking why the LA Clippers had an outstanding defense with him on the court. Well, he routinely showed an ability to decrease the offensive effectiveness of top-tier opposing guards with minimal assistance.
One of the tools he uses to decrease the effectiveness of opposing guards is turning his body sideways to navigate screens. On March 4, 2025, he was guarding Phoenix Suns player Devin Booker with 2 minutes left in the second quarter. Devin had the ball at the top of the key, waiting for Nick Richards to come and set a screen.
Once the screen was set, Booker took a couple of steps to the left to go over it. Devin was hoping one of Dunn’s body parts would clash with Richards to create separation. Unfortunately, Kris Dunn took a couple of steps forward just before the screen was set to get closer to Booker. Consequently, Kris Dunn reduced the impact of the screen after it was set, as it made minimal contact with his right leg.
The minimal contact allowed Kris Dunn to clear the screen almost immediately by taking a couple of steps to the right with his left leg, turning his body. Booker was unable to get separation, opening the door for a Dunn steal as he turned the corner to drive towards the basket.
Stats versus elite guards
These types of possessions contributed to Kris Dunn being one of the best on-ball defenders in the league last season. He held Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, and Stephen Curry to a combined 23.1 % shooting on 17 attempts in 91.3 partial possessions across six games last season.
The team performed worse with him off the court, allowing opponents to average 60.4 points on 46.4% shooting from 47.3 attempts per game. Given the evidence stated above, it is clear that the Clippers should start him.
Enter Bradley Beal — and a Defensive Drop-Off
Kris Dunn will be replaced in the starting lineup by Bradley Beal. Beal has developed a habit of giving subpar effort on defense. On January 4, 2025, Beal was assigned to guard Bennedict Mathurin with nine minutes left in the first quarter versus the Pacers.
However, he stood near the right elbow for most of the possessions, watching Pacers players go into an offensive set. Beal only gave a little effort when he took a couple of steps to the left to act like he was going to provide help to Andrew Nembhard, who was trying to drive towards the basket.
Bradley’s lack of effort has resulted in a defensive field goal percentage of 46.2% over the past three seasons, averaging 12.9 attempts per game. Beal’s defensive field goal percentage is 0.3% worse than the average.
For comparison, Kris had a defensive field goal percentage of 43.5% during this time frame on 9.3 attempts per game. Dunn’s defensive field goal percentage was 3% better than the league average.
Consequently, the Clippers will take a significant defensive step back, causing them to lose more games. For context, the Clippers captured the fifth seed with 50 wins last season. However, they would’ve been in the play-in if they had lost the final game of the season to the Warriors.
Due to the tight margins in the Western Conference, the team will likely compete for the 6th to 10th seed.
Leave a ReplyCancel reply