It was almost four years ago, that the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship in the Bubble, and to this day, many in the basketball world downplay that triumph. While the naysayers point to many different reasons for it, Austin Reaves stated on BustaJack Golf, that the only reason it gets discredited is because LeBron James was the one who won.
“It’s not a Mickey Mouse ring,” Reaves said. “… I don’t want to say it’s the hardest. I mean everybody had an equal playing field, I think it’s the same as every other year. I just think if Bron doesn’t win it, then nobody says anything. Everybody hates Bron. Actually, everybody loves LeBron, but he gets so much hate.”
I believe there is some element of truth to that. LeBron’s detractors have always tried to find reasons to minimize his major achievements and those playoffs being held in the Bubble gave them the ammunition they needed.
Do I think there would still be talk about that title needing an asterisk or whatnot if, let’s say, the Toronto Raptors or the Milwaukee Bucks had won? Probably not, because at the end of the day, it was a level playing field.
Sure, a certain section of players didn’t want to be there, but that’s not on LeBron. He and the Lakers managed to adapt to the situation they found themselves in and won, and should be lauded for that.
LeBron played exceptionally well in that playoff run too, averaging 27.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game while shooting 56.0% from the field. The Lakers would beat the Miami Heat in six games in the NBA Finals to clinch the title and James took home Finals MVP honors for his play in the series.
Austin Reaves Shares When He Stopped Being A LeBron James Hater
Reaves mentioned that LeBron has a lot of haters and well, he himself used to be one of them. The 26-year-old was a Kobe Bryant fan growing up and didn’t have a lot of love for the man who would one day become his teammate. So, when did that change? Well, during this episode, Reaves revealed when he stopped hating on LeBron.
“I’ve asked him what he thought his greatest year was, not in terms of championships but in terms of peak athleticism, skill, and knowledge. For me, I think his best year was the year they lost to K.D. and Steph in the Finals. That was the year I finally stopped hating him.”
Reaves didn’t specify if he was referring to the 2017 or 2018 Finals there. LeBron excelled in both of them but there was ultimately nothing he could do to prevent the Cleveland Cavaliers from losing both those series.
The Golden State Warriors were just too good with Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant and I think if they had not teamed up, LeBron certainly would have had more than four titles to his name now. Reaves is now hoping to help James get a fifth ring, but I don’t give the Lakers much of a chance at winning it all next season, as things stand.
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