Chris Dudley talks a lot like someone who is going to run for governor.

The former Portland Trail Blazer has been criticizing Oregon’s bottom-of-the-barrel education ranking and lamenting the fact that Portland is no longer the city where outsiders want to invest.

He blasted the Democratic governor for passing a transportation tax hike without more Republican buy-in and said one-party rule in the state for decades has been a disservice to the state.

“Oregon used to be a national leader in so many areas,” Dudley said in a recent interview with OPB. “And we need to be a leader again, and we need to work together, regardless of party, work together and say, ‘hey, we can do better’.”

So, is he going to run?

He’s made the rounds in recent weeks talking about it.

But he’s not saying, yet.

Dudley is well known for a lot of things. Tussling with Shaquille O’Neal, for one. More recently, his involvement with the group Rip City Forever.

But in political circles, he’s most famous for being the closest any Republican has ever gotten to becoming governor in ages.

The last time Oregon had a Republican in the governor’s mansion, Clyde Drexler was on the Portland Trail Blazers. (That was in 1987 when Vic Atiyeh was governor.) But in 2010, Dudley got closer than any other Republican since. He lost by a mere 22,000 votes to Democrat John Kitzhaber.

It was a strong showing for the former Blazer center, who was a first-time political candidate. Kitzhaber had already been elected governor twice and was seeking his third term.

“I’m incredibly frustrated by where our state is right now,” Dudley said. “And would like to see changes made in our state. I think we could do so much better. And so, I’m considering what’s the best way, best vehicle to make that change or help make that change.”

The GOP in Oregon has struggled for decades to identify candidates who are moderate enough to win a statewide race but still manage to appeal to the more conservative base. In 2016, they managed to win their only statewide office in years, that of the Secretary of State, but lost it in 2020.

Dudley, who graduated from Yale, played in the NBA for more than a decade and worked in wealth management after, said he doesn’t identify as a “moderate” and doesn’t like labels. But he’s a pro-choice Republican.

“I’m a policy above party. I’m a ‘let’s put Oregon first,’” he said. “I think I come from a family of diverse backgrounds … I have friends that are Democrats. I have friends that are Republicans, friends and everything in between, and they’re all great people.”

Dudley said he understands why Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek is fighting against allowing the National Guard to be deployed to Portland, and if he were governor, he would also not want the guard deployed.

But the Central Oregon resident said he also wouldn’t want the city to even be in the position where it could be considered.

“Leadership to me is about empathy and accountability. And I would argue right now, we have neither,” Dudley said. “I don’t think you have empathy when you have people lying on the streets and you’re having to walk over and around them and not helping them.”

A website at DudleyForOregon.com notes it’s “launching soon.” Dudley said he didn’t build the site, but considered that perhaps someone did it for him.

If Dudley does decide to run for governor, he would be up against state Sen. Christine Drazan, R-Canby, and Marion County Commissioner Danielle Bethell in the primary. The last time Dudley ran, Nike co-founder Phil Knight, who continues to be active in state politics, was one of his biggest donors.

On the Democratic side, Kotek is widely expected to announce she is seeking reelection in the coming weeks. She changed the registration of her political action committee last week. It’s the clearest signal yet that Kotek is readying herself for a second term.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/11/21/oregon-governors-race/