While Seattle and Las Vegas are favorites to host possible new NBA franchises, the city of Montreal has never hidden its interest in professional basketball, and today there are several Montrealers in the NBA. Last night, Canada’s second city hosted the meeting between the Thunder and the Pistons, and while Lu Dort was entitled to a royal welcome, his teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gave his opinion on the expansion of the NBA.
“It was almost like a real NBA game. We can remove the “almost”, it was clearly a real match. The NBA should put a team here” reacted SGAbefore discussing Montrealers’ passion for basketball. “It’s super important. [de jouer ici]just for people to see it up close, for kids to see that the NBA is not so far away and hard to reach, and it’s not out of their dreams and out of their reach.”
A golden era for Canadian basketball
World Cup bronze medalist with Canada and best local player, Gilgeous-Alexander is proud to be at the heart of his country’s rise to power. “Canadian basketball is moving in the right direction, and it starts with young people. Myself, Lu, all the guys on the team, we were kids who dreamed and believed at one point, and as long as you do that, you have a chance. »
Hero of the evening, Dort had 150 to 200 loved ones in the stands, and he made his dream come true: playing an NBA game in Montreal. Even to the point of having sobs in my voice. ” It was not easy. I had a lot on my mind when I got ready the night before. And when it came time to speak, the audience couldn’t stop screaming, and frankly, I almost shed a tear. I had to pull myself together.”
The Thunder is proud of its Canadians
And what does he think of the idea of an NBA franchise, and of coming to play there in the regular season? “Basketball has become so big here, and the fact that there are so many fans that have come, I hope that happens one day.” It will definitely be difficult to play here because there is a good crowd, but I hope it will happen. »
Witness to the happiness of Gilgeous-Alexander and Dort to play on their land, Mark Daigneault paid tribute to them. “It was a historic team this year. Canadian basketball has been emerging for probably 20 years, but it seems like it’s coming at the right time, and the fact that we have two players who are at the heart of that is something we’re incredibly grateful for. It was really, really cool to see them accomplish what they accomplished. »
