Our player preview series for the 2026 Clippers continues with Kris Dunn, the Clippers’ best perimeter defender.

Basic Information

Height: 6’3

Weight: 205 pounds

Position: Shooting Guard/Point Guard

Age: 31

Years in NBA: 9

Stats: 6.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 turnovers in 24.1 minutes per game across 74 games played (58 starts) on 43.9/33.5/68.2 shooting splits (3.0 3PA, 0.3 FTA) for 53.2 True Shooting

Contract Status: In the second year of a 3 year, $16.2M deal, making $5.4M this season with a non-guaranteed $5.7M next season

Expectations

Kris Dunn was a bit of a revelation last year for the Clippers. While people knew he was a good defender and figured he’d have a nice impact on the team, I’m not sure anyone thought that he’d start most of the season and be an All-Defense First Team caliber player that raised the floor and ceiling of the Clippers’ defense. With the Clippers adding more talent this summer and trying to boost their offense, it feels like Dunn’s role will be smaller this year, but his point of attack defense, hustle, and energy are still important, and he seems locked into a bench role where he can come in and wreak havoc against opposing reserve units.

Strengths

Kris Dunn’s best strength is obvious: he’s one of the very best perimeter defenders in the entire NBA. A menace on ball, quick enough to take on small guards and strong enough to body up bigger players, Dunn is even better off-ball, as his instincts, speed, and swift hands enable him to rack up deflections and steals. While Ivica Zubac had the biggest impact on the Clippers’ top-five defense last year due to position, Dunn was a rare perimeter defender who truly swung the team’s entire defense. Add to his actual skills the intangibles of effort, intensity, and ferocity and you have a special defensive talent.

While Kris Dunn has his weaknesses on offense (see below), he is capable in a couple of key areas. Notably, the fact that he used to play point guard means he’s a relatively strong ballhandler that is generally able to bring the ball up the floor and handle pressure. In a similar vein, while not a brilliant playmaker, Dunn can make easy reads in the flow of the offense and is a careful passer that does not turn the ball over much. These skills make Dunn particularly nifty in four on three situations where he can take advantage of numbers to make the simple read and get open looks. There is definitely utility with having Dunn out there on offense.

Weaknesses

Kris is a well below-average three-point shooter for a modern NBA guard, making just 33.5% of his triples last year while attempting three per game. And as meh as those numbers are, that was by far his best three-point shooting season when combing volume and percentage in his career. Despite being at least a slight threat from deep, Dunn is just not a good enough shooter to make defenses really pay attention to him from behind the arc, which cramps spacing and can result in frustrating offensive possessions when he misses several open looks in a short span. If he was a better three-point shooter, however, he’d be one of the better role players in the league, so there’s a reason the Clippers got him for cheap.

Outside of the outside shot, Kris is also sadly not a huge threat to score inside the arc. He doesn’t get to the rim much, and when he does, he’s a below-the-rim finisher that can’t consistently punish defenses around the basket. Kris actually shoots quite well at the rim (71.9% last year) but is judicious with his attempts because he knows he can’t finish over people. That lack of slashing is partially why Derrick Jones Jr. is a more effective offensive player even though he’s not a meaningfully better outside shooter. In short, Kris is just not much of a scoring threat in the halfcourt, and that’s a problem for a guard.

Summary

Kris Dunn was a mighty pleasant surprise last year, becoming an instant fan favorite due to his insane defense and fun personality. There’s no reason to think he can’t continue being beloved by the fanbase this year if he maintains his defensive impact off the bench and helps keep the Clippers’ defense afloat even with the influx of offense-first pieces. In just one season Dunn skyrocketed up my ranks of favorite Clippers’ role players, and I feel quite confident he will be just as entertaining this season.

Clippers 2026 Player Preview: Kris Dunn
Robert Flom

Our exit interview series on the 2025 Clippers continues with Kris Dunn, who turned in one of the best defensive seasons in franchise history.

Basic Information

Height: 6’3

Weight: 205 pounds

Position: Shooting Guard/Small Forward/Point Guard

Age: 31

Years in NBA: 9

Key Regular Season Stats: 6.4 points, 2.8 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 1.7 steals, 0.4 blocks, and 1.0 turnovers in 24.1 minutes per game across 74 games played (58 starts) on 43.9/33.5/68.2 (3.0 3PA, 0.3 FTA attempts) shooting splits (53.1 True Shooting)

Postseason Stats: 6.3 points, 1.3 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 0.1 turnovers in 39.4 minutes per game across seven games played (six starts) on 38.6/35.7 shooting splits (4.0 3PA, 0 FTA) shooting splits (50.0 True Shooting)

Expectations

The acquisition of Kris Dunn on a 3 year, $16M deal as part of a sign and trade for Russell Westbrook was widely liked by Clippers’ fans and the general NBA media. However, Dunn was generally considered one of the most minor of the Clippers’ offseason additions, certainly ranking behind Derrick Jones Jr. and Nic Batum. People expected Dunn to serve as a reserve guard capable of manning either the point guard or off-guard role, likely in a pairing with Norm Powell. He was anticipated to serve as a point-of-attack stopper, energy bringer off the bench, and a spare ballhandler behind James Harden.

Reality

The first 11 games of the season went more or less as expected for Kris, who came off the bench and played mostly between 18 to 20 minutes per game. Then, after game 11, with the Clippers’ defense looking a bit inconsistent and the ballhandling pressure on James Harden being too much, Kris was moved into the starting lineup for Terance Mann. And, outside of around a month-long stretch in the middle of the season when he was dealing with a knee injury, he never left it. Dunn’s defense, connective passing, additional ballhandling, and rebounding were all crucial components for the Clippers, even as his varying three-point shot and lack of scoring at the rim were costly on offense. His demonic help defense, ability to generate turnovers, and nagging presence at the point of attack had Dunn ranked as one of the very best defenders in the entire NBA by all advanced metrics as well as the eye test. There were times it seemed Dunn might get benched for Derrick Jones Jr., or Nic Batum, or even Amir Coffey, but he was simply too good for Ty Lue to go away from in the regular season.

Unfortunately, the playoffs did not go quite so well. Dunn had a strong impact at the start of the series as the Clippers seized an early 2-1 lead against the Nuggets. Denver consistently sagged off Dunn and let him shoot threes, but he made them at a solid enough rate and his defense was good enough that any deficits on offense were overcome. As the series went along, however, the Clippers’ offense began to get bogged down, and Ty Lue started searching for other answers. Dunn was benched in the second half of Game 6 for Nic Batum, who then also started Game 7. Dunn was skittish in his brief appearance in Game 7, and mostly played late when the game was already over. Like for almost everyone on the Clippers, it was a disappointing showing, even though I’d argue Dunn met expectations better than most on the team – at least the defense was great, and the three-point shooting numbers were actually solid.

It’s rather hard to overstate Dunn’s impact on the Clippers this year. He was the best perimeter defender I’ve seen in my time covering and watching the Clippers – better than Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Pat Beverley, Luc Mbah a Moute, or whoever else you’d want to throw in that mix from the Blake, Lob City, and 213 eras. He was not just an impactful defensive player on the court, but his energy, hustle, and leadership were huge factors in the Clippers’ overall transformation into a gritty defense-first team. He single-handedly turned several games in the Clippers’ favor, and was a floor raiser on the defensive end that is extremely rare for perimeter players. Despite the disappointing ending in the playoffs for Dunn and the Clippers, it was an extremely memorable season for Dunn in a Clippers’ jersey.

Future with Clippers

Kris Dunn is signed for the 2026 season at $5.4M and then has a non-guaranteed $5.7M in 2027. If Dunn is even remotely close to the player he was in this past season, he will provide far more value than those figures. However, the fact that he outperformed his contract so much is precisely what offers him trade value – there are many, many NBA teams that would love to have Dunn on his current deal. If the Clippers want to do more of a full roster reset, Dunn is one of the players on the team that probably has the most positive value.

At the end of the day, however, Dunn almost certainly has more value to the Clippers than another team – they aren’t getting a lottery pick or blue chip youngster for him, and he’s not a big enough swing piece for a star. Since all the reporting is that the Clippers want to be competitive again next year, trading Dunn or other vets for a step back probably isn’t in the cards anyway.

There’s also the simple fact that Dunn was one of if not the most important piece(s) in the Clippers’ defense-first identity this past season. Yes, he’s probably too limited on offense to be a starter on a true contender. But the Clippers can’t replace his defense, tenacity, and heart. Unless the Clippers get a shocking offer for Dunn, I would expect him to be on the Clips again next season, just maybe in a slightly smaller role.

Clippers 2025 Exit Interviews: Kris Dunn
Robert Flom

Our player preview series for the 2025 Clippers season continues with Kris Dunn, the projected backup point guard and defensive ace.

Basic Information

Height: 6’3

Weight: 205 pounds

Position: Point Guard

Age: 30

Years in NBA: 8

Key Stats: 5.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.2 turnovers in 18.9 minutes per game across 66 games played (32 starts) on 47/36.9/68.8 shooting splits.

Contract Status: Year one of a three-year, $16.2 million deal signed this offseason in a sign-and-trade with the Utah Jazz.

Expectations

Kris Dunn has been a player that’s been on Clippers fans’ wishlist for quite some time. He was a standout for their G League team and used that to get back to the NBA following a somewhat underwhelming first few years in the league amid injury issues.

Since then, he’s been one of the better backup point guards in the NBA with improved offensive efficiency. That’s all the Clippers will expect from him. Somebody to come in and steady the second unit, play defense, and maybe get a couple of buckets here and there.

Strengths

If there was a theme to the Clippers offseason, it was defense. Most of their offseason acquisitions have built their NBA careers on the defensive end of the court. Defense is certainly Dunn’s biggest strength. He can guard multiple positions, applying pressure on the ball-handler and forcing turnovers.

He’s a very good ball-handler too. A steady hand who can run an offense and create good looks for his teammates. Talent-wise, he is not Russell Westbrook, but he might be the most steady backup the Clippers have had at the one in recent seasons.

Weaknesses

Offensively is where Dunn can struggle a bit. Early in his career he was never a particularly efficient shooter. He’s made strides on that end though. The past two seasons with the Jazz he shot back to back career-highs in three-point percentage.

Dunn’s a smart player who won’t stray too far from his role/limitations. The Clipper should hope for Dunn to be a legitimate catch and shoot threat this season.

Summary

Quite frankly, this move has the possibility of being one of the best free agent signings of the offseason. Clippers fans are certainly happy about Dunn’s addition. The team is built differently this year than any team in the 213 era. Defense first is their mindset and Dunn fits right in to that philosophy.

This Clippers team is going to be scrappy and will look to grind wins out rather than outscore their opponents. Depending on where the Clippers finish in the standings and whether he logs enough minutes, Dunn could finally get consideration for one of the All-Defensive teams.

Clippers 2024-2025 Season Preview: Kris Dunn
David Yapkowitz