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While NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is considering expansion, Oklahoma City Thunder veteran Lu Dort is advocating for the association to consider Montreal, Canada, as a potential expansion destination. Coming off a 2025 NBA Finals victory against the Indiana Pacers, the Thunder’s league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dort, and Canadian players made history in the NBA Finals.
Dort explained why Montreal’s an ideal destination for the NBA in an interview with Canada’s CTV News.
“I would say the talent and the audience definitely. I think there’s a lot of people in Montreal that loves basketball. Talent, we have so many kids from Montreal that plays in high school now. That plays in college. A lot of them in the NBA as well,” Dort said. “I really think it’s possible. I’ll see if it happens one day. I’ll see if I’ll be involved in that one day. It’s to see but I feel like it could definitely feel like it could happen one day.”
Dort also thinks players wouldn’t mind living up north as Montreal would become the second NBA team located outside of the United States and in Canada.
“I’m telling them like, ‘Guys, Montreal is a nice city and I’m pretty sure the NBA would love to have a team there,’” Dort said. “Sometimes, whenever I get the chance to speak on it, I’ll do it.”
Thunder’s Dort and Gilgeous-Alexander, and Paers’ Andrew Nembhard and Ben Mathurin made NBA Finals history last season when they combined for a whopping 72 points in Game 1. It was the most Canadian players who combined to score in any playoff game in NBA history.
Lu reflects on ‘crazy ride’ after Thunder championship run
Thunder guard Lu Dort has come a long way, capturing his first NBA title after going undrafted six years ago. The moment isn’t lost on him. Dort remembers the devastation that followed, recalling it as the worst week of his life, hours beating the Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
“It’s crazy, looking back to my first year. I went undrafted six years ago. June 19 was the draft. That week was probably the worst week of my life,” Dort said. “You look now, June 22, 20225, it’s crazy how I still go back, and I had to trust the process. And how this organization gave me a great opportunity. I’m grateful and I’m happy to be here.”
Dort and the Thunder will look to defend their title in the 2025-26 season.
