OKC Thunder Wing Sends Heartfelt Message to Fans Ahead of NBA Finals

Oklahoma City is four wins away from its first NBA championship, and its players know what that would mean for the community.

The Thunder have been the best team in the NBA all season, winning 68 games and earning their first trip to the NBA Finals since 2012. Going up against a 50-win Indiana Pacers team making their first Finals appearance since 2000, the Thunder enter Round 4 as heavy favorites.

Of course, the Pacers making it to this point was no accident, as they took out a 64-win Cleveland Cavaliers team on their way to the Finals. The Thunder will need all of their stars and role players to shine to take the Larry O’Brien. 

Among those who will need to be at their top form is Lu Dort. In his sixth season with the Thunder, Dort is the longest-tenured member of the team, joining Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the only players in Oklahoma City from the 2019-20 season.

On Wednesday, one day before the NBA Finals, Dort wrote an article in The Players’ Tribune titled “Earned Not Given.” Dort detailed his basketball journey from growing up in Montreal to finding his potential in high school and college before making his way to Oklahoma City as an undrafted free agent.

Through it all, Dort was always an underdog in his situation and had to fight for everything that came his way. The hard work it took to get to this point is part of why the team is so close, Dort noted.

“Fast forward to where we are now, and, inside our locker room, my journey just connects me with all the guys. We might be from different places, but everybody has a chip on their shoulder. A backstory. A hometown.

"And yeah, over the past few years, we all started to form a deep bond over this shared goal of bringing a championship HERE.

"To this city.”

Dort also pointed out how Thunder fans have been through it all with the team over the past few seasons. He acknowledged the chatter that this Thunder team could be a dynasty with one of the widest windows in the sport.

However, blocking out that noise is critical as the NBA Finals near. With Game 1 set for tipoff in Oklahoma City on Thursday night, Dort had one final message for fans.

“Thunder fans, I know you’ve been through it all. I know you’ve heard all you can hear about how young we are, about how we have so much potential to do great things, about how our window for a title is wide open. And yeah, that might be true for what’s ahead. But for right now? This isn’t about our age, or about our window. This is about the opportunity that’s right in front of us. This is about us being where our feet are — and our feet are right here in OKC, right here with you all, ready to do something special.”