January 2, 2025
The Brooklyn Nets will play six NBA G league games in Laval starting this month
Basketball fans in Montreal were dealt a tough hand late last year, when it was announced that its BSL league team, the Montreal Toundra, would be sitting out the season for financial reasons, which left a void between CEBL seasons, where the Montreal Alliance play.
Yet all is well in la belle province, as the Brooklyn Nets will be playing six of their regular season games in Laval and rebranding themselves as the Montreal Nets for those select games. Two games will be played in January, two more in February and finally a further two games will take place in March.
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On January 24th, The Nets will take on the Toronto 905, the NBA G league affiliate of the Toronto Raptors, at 7 o’clock. The two teams will meet again two days later on January 26th at 3 o’clock – both games will take place at Place Bell in Laval, the home of the AHL’s Laval Rocket and the PWHL’s Montreal Victoire.
Then, in February, the Nets will be welcoming the Greensboro Swarm on February 5 at 7 o’clock, and the Delaware Blue Coats on February 8 at 3 o’clock. Finally, the Memphis Hustle will visit on March 13th and 14th, with both games set for a 7 o’clock tip-off.
These games will mark the G League’s debut in Montreal, an area that should eventually come up in NBA expansion talks and might be being tested as a market through these games.
Although there is no indication that the Long Island Nets will relocate from the Coliseum yet, this six-game move to Canada continues to open that possibility. The Las Vegas Sands company is intent on moving forward with its plans to launch a casino in the area.
In August, the Nassau County Legislature approved a proposal to lease the Coliseum’s property to Las Vegas Sands; however, the company has yet to receive a gaming license and continues to face public pushback. That might not be a deterrence, though.
“If a gaming license is denied, Sands intends to go ahead with plans for a resort on the property,” a report on the Long Island Press added.
Meanwhile, Montreal has been angling for an NBA team since at least 2018.
Read More:
>> The Niagara River Lions are Eastern Conference champions
>> The Vancouver Bandits are Western Conference champions
>> Montreal Alliance beat league best Vancouver Bandits
The 34-game regular season began on Friday, Dec. 27th when the Nets lost to the San Antonio Spurs. At the conclusion of the regular season, the top six teams in each conference will qualify for the NBA G League Playoffs, which conclude with the NBA G League Finals in April 2025.
Tickets for the six games are available now, from this location.
