François Legault Wants Quebec To Have Its Own NBA Team After Toronto Raptors Championship Win

In an interview this morning, Quebec Premier François Legault told journalists that he would like to see an NBA team established in the province. 

Inspired by the Toronto Raptors' first-ever NBA Championship win last night, Legault said that it would be a "good idea" to have an NBA team in the province because there's such a huge amount of interest. He even said that he avidly watched the whole series between the Raptors and the Warriors. 

Needless to say, professional sports are an important part of Quebec's culture. Now, with the apparent support of the Quebec government, Montreal might see an NBA team soon. Montreal is already home to an NHL team, a CFL team, and an MLS team.

Last night, the Toronto Raptors won their first championship in franchise history, beating the Golden State Warriors 114-110 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. Their win marked the first time Canada has seen an NBA Championship. 

Even though they didn't win at home, Toronto and Montreal had massive celebrations. Montreal in fact closed down two downtown streets for viewing parties. 

It was those celebrations in Montreal that inspired Premier Legault to say he wanted an NBA team in Quebec this morning. According to him, there are already people on the case. 

The public seems to be in unanimous support of this idea as well. Since last night, people have taken to Twitter with messages of support for an NBA team in Montreal.

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According to TVA Nouvelles, Legault hasn't ruled out investing public funds to support an NBA team. He pointed out that the investment would come from taxes on NBA player's salaries. 

The same report mentions that opposition leaders in the National Assembly supported the idea of bringing an NBA team to Quebec but didn't want public funds to be used. 

Investors have been interested in bringing an NBA team to Montreal for quite some time now, but the logistics of it have so far been complicated. In the short term, it doesn't seem like the NBA will move ahead with expansion. 

Due to all this renewed interest in professional basketball, however, an NBA team in Quebec seems like a matter of when not if.

Whatever happens in the future, it's encouraging to know that the NBA has the support of the Quebec Government if they ever wanted to expand here. 

The Raptors have proven that Canada can support a basketball team and even win championships. It's all in the NBA's hands now. 

To read more about François Legault's comments, read this article on TVA Nouvelles.