The NBA and Canada share a rich history. From Bob Houbregs in the 50s to Steve Nash in the early 00s, there’s been no shortage of iconic players from the Great White North. Now, it seems the new guard has truly arrived in the NBA. And leading the charge are the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort, trying to bring the NBA title back to Canada for the first time since 2019! They’ll need to go through their fellow Canadians and friends to do it, though.

But even with this competition among countrymen, things have never looked so peachy for the Hosers as now. After all, they’ve got 4 players playing in the NBA Finals this year! And as they play on the biggest stage in basketball, Lu Dort has a message for his fellow Canadians.

“I mean, we spend a lot of time during the summer. I mean, this past two summers, we were together, you know, just training and getting ready for the national team stuff that we’ve been doing. So, you know, it’s good that we’re on this stage now. And then next summer, the next World Cup, the next Olympics, we’ll be all together and talking about this moment,” said the OKC star.

Now, if you’re wondering who he was addressing, one of them is obviously his teammate, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The remaining two will be on the other end of the court with the Indiana Pacers — Andrew Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin. And his message to them is simple. Once the NBA final is settled with Canada getting at least two new NBA champs, it’s time to lock in. It’s time to lock in for the World Cup, the Olympics in a bid to achieve the same glory at the international level as they are in the NBA.

But Lu Dort knows that the NBA Finals are his moment to shine. Even if he’s looking past them slightly. And his head coach, Mark Daigneault, has full faith in Dort’s ability to rise to the occasion.

Mark Daigneault praises Lu Dort, the “irritant” despite Game 1 loss to the Pacers

See, Game 1 wasn’t a complete bust for the Oklahoma City Thunder. They may have dropped the ball offensively, unable to gain a lead bigger than 15 points despite forcing 19 turnovers from the Pacers in the first half. But individually? Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort had great games!

While Shai ended the game 2 points shy of a 40-ball, Lu showed the world how well-rounded he is as a player. By the end of Game 1, Dort joined Kawhi Leonard as the only player in NBA Finals history to have 4 or more steals and five or more three-pointers in one game. Kawhi did it in Game 4 of the 2019 Finals against the Golden State Warriors. And now Lu’s done it too! So his head coach’s words come as no surprise, even if their team couldn’t get the W.

“Well, there’s a huge luxury to Lu because I think more so than anything I could say about him, I think the other players don’t like playing against him. He’s just an irritant. He’s physical, relentless, he’s well-studied at this point in his career… Having a guy that takes on those matchups like Lu is a great place to start,” said Daigneault.

From his words, it’s clear how well Daigneault knows Lu’s abilities. He can be a pest on defense for even the greatest players. “Lock Down Lu” is a real thing. And look no further than him making the NBA All-Defense for proof. So, Mark knows that the Thunder may have lost the battle. But, with a player like Lu, the war is not over yet!