Luguentz Dort is bringing the Larry O'Brien Trophy back to where his basketball journey began.

The Montreal native is coming off the best season of his NBA career, capped off with winning a championship with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Dort has plans to bring the trophy to Montreal in late August to celebrate with his hometown and couldn't help but reflect on his journey to this moment.

"Growing up in Montreal, I had to take the bus or the metro to go all the way to Park Ex to play for a couple of hours," Dort told TSN690 on Wednesday. "That just shaped me as a person and helped me grow my game on so many levels."

Dort averaged 10.1 points. 4.1 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 71 games with the Thunder last season, finishing fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting and named to the all-defensive team.

The 6-foot-4 swingman is one of the most successful alumni of the Brookwood Elite AAU basketball program, which helps their athletes get exposure by competing in high-profile tournaments in the United States. Other notable alumni include Bennedict Mathurin of the Indiana Pacers and former Toronto Raptors centre Khem Birch.

It was through this program that Dort found confidence that he could play with the best players in his age group and his desire to become one of the best defensive players in the game.

"Every time we went to the United States to play the top players, I really used to take to the challenge," said Dort. "That was just how I approached the game as a young player and noticed I was doing really well against some of the higher-ranked players. Since then, I just starting comparing my game to some of the top defensive guys in the NBA and it helped me get to where I am today."

The program has helped put Montreal on the basketball map with a number players moving on to play NCAA basketball and a few making it to the NBA.

Dort is proud of the impact his city has had on the basketball community and wants to be a good role model for the next generation.

"[Brookwood Elite] has such a great organization with so many young players, and you can see with some of the players who have gone to the States to play AAU tournaments that the game is just getting better," said Dort. "There are so many Canadians and guys from Montreal that love to play basketball now. Guys like me, Mathurin, and [Toronto Raptors forward] Chris Boucher set the tone for the next generation."

The Canadian pride continued to Oklahoma City with Dort teaming up with NBA and Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the past six seasons. Gilgeous-Alexander, a Hamilton, Ont., native, has taken the NBA world by storm and had a historic season last year by averaging 32.7 points, 6.4 assists, and 5.0 rebounds.

The two players have also played numerous times with Canada at various international events, including the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Dort credits this time as something that has had a strong impact on their relationship.

"Shai has been the biggest leader on our team and he's always been the one who sets up the dinners and gatherings," said Dort. "[He] is the face of basketball right now and we wear the Canadian jersey with pride. Playing for Canada built our relationship a lot.

He's always been a brother to me, and we're always happy to represent Canada. What we've achieved in Oklahoma City was amazing."

The Thunder took a more classic approach to building their NBA championship roster, drafting and developing young players rather than signing or trading for stars from around the NBA. The majority of the team were either drafted or brought into the organization within their first two seasons in the league, and the team filled in the holes with veterans like Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso.

Dort feels some pride by winning with the team that gave him a shot as an undrafted free agent and going against the NBA grain by winning players who have all grown and climbed the ladder together.

"When I first got to [Oklahoma City] they were so up front with me and that gave me a lot of confidence," said Dort. "Since then, there's been a lot of improvement year by year, and the relationship has gotten better the whole time. Even though we're a young team, there are so many guys on the team that I went up against in high school or college. It's crazy that we've achieved something like this at a young age and early in our careers.

"It shows a different recipe that you can still win a championship by drafting young players and building something great."