The legitimacy of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ triumph in the Bubble in 2020 has once again become a big talking point, thanks to Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations, Daryl Morey. Morey claimed that people within the NBA privately agree it isn’t a genuine title, but The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski explained why it shouldn’t be viewed that way.
“I actually think the Lakers deserve a different kind of asterisk. I think the bubble title needs an asterisk because it was harder than people want to acknowledge, not easier. It is well-documented how miserable teams were. Sequestered from family. Isolated.
“Doing something for society at large by going to work under very murky circumstances, with so many unanswered health questions, to try to give a shaken country some sense of normalcy. It was an mental endurance test the likes of which we have rarely seen.”
It certainly was a challenging environment for the players to be in, from a mental standpoint. Sure, being inside Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, isn’t exactly the worst experience imaginable, but being away from their families and in isolation during what was a very difficult period, due to COVID-19, wasn’t ideal.
The Lakers were the team that navigated through that difficult situation the best and deserve credit for it. Also, keep in mind, this wasn’t a case of a team catching lightning in a bottle.
The Lakers had an impressive 49-14 record when the NBA suspended play. They were one of the very best teams in the league and went on to replicate their dominance in the Bubble. They lost just three playoff games on their way to the NBA Finals, where they defeated the Miami Heat in six games.
It was an impressive run by the Lakers, and they should be applauded for how they performed. The only real advantage they ended up getting that season was the extended break due to the league being suspended. For a team with a fair few veterans, that was ideal, but that’s about it.
While the people Morey spoke to still believe it isn’t a genuine title, a couple of players the Lakers beat en route to winning it think otherwise. Heat star Bam Adebayo stated that the 2020 championship was the hardest to win.
Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard also defended the Lakers’ title win. Lillard felt it was a hard title to win because everyone was fresh thanks to the break, and couldn’t understand why people were discrediting that triumph.
Austin Reaves has a theory for why that has happened. Reaves believes the Bubble title gets discredited only because James was the one who emerged victorious. There is probably some truth to that.
As for James’ thoughts on the Bubble, he believes the world saw the purest form of basketball in it. He shone as usual in that setup, averaging 27.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game in the 2020 playoffs.
James would be named Finals MVP against the Heat as well, and that was easily his greatest hour as a Laker. Will he ever get back to that stage with the team? It’s possible, but doesn’t seem likely at this point.
