A tale of two friends, two foes, one Finals

Bennedict Mathurin of the Indiana Pacers and Lu Dort of the Oklahoma City Thunder grew up minutes from each other in the Montreal-North borough.

They played at nearby courts, and eventually for the same basketball programs. Both men are from Haitian families. Both played in the same state during their college careers.

“It will be huge for Montreal,” Dort said. “Especially Montreal-North. We’re the two NBA players that’s from there. Most of the people back home cheer for either Indiana or OKC. It’s big for the basketball world in Montreal, the people that will enjoy it will watch two kids from Montreal in the finals, which will be huge.””Sure. I think it’s a great thing. I think it’s a great opportunity for me, Lu, the whole Montreal city,” said Mathurin. “I think it’s a great step in the right direction just to be able to go against each other. You know, Lu’s a great friend of mine. I would call him brother right now, but we’re enemies. Just going into the Finals, it’s a great thing from where we from. The Haitian community, as well. I’m looking forward to play against him and create history.”

From Montreal To Arizona

Mathurin played at Arizona from 2020-22, and Lu Dort was at Arizona State for the 2018-19 season. So, they never got to play at the collegiate level against one another, but now we get the Dort versus Mathurin matchup at the professional level on the NBA’s biggest stage, the NBA Finals.

Friends And Foes

In 2023, Oklahoma City won that first edition of Dort versus Mathurin. Dort scored 22 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in the win, while Mathurin countered with 13 points and five rebounds.

As soon as the game ended, the friendship returned. Dort and Mathurin swapped jerseys afterward to celebrate their first game against each other in their professional careers.

When Mathurin was drafted as the sixth overall pick in 2022, Dort was there right next to him, celebrating his dear friend’s accomplishment. Dort was entering his fourth season in the NBA after going undrafted in 2019.

It’s a surreal moment for both to be here today, competing for a championship so early in their careers and representing their country above all else.

“I’m not really trying to think about how much I deserve to be here because I know I worked really hard. I also have a great team, a great team that we didn’t start the season the right way, we finally found ourselves in time for us to be in the Finals, so it’s been a great thing.” Mathurin said.”To enjoy. Obviously we represent our teams here. But at the end of the day we represent our country, as well. It’s going to be really fun. They should enjoy it.” Dort added.

Game 3 of the NBA Finals begins tonight in Indiana ,and the series is tied at 1-1.