The Los Angeles Lakers ended their 10-year championship drought by winning the 2020 NBA title. But many, including Patrick Beverley, believe their team could have just as easily won that year.
Patrick Beverley was a member of the Los Angeles Clippers at the time, and he recently claimed that if it wasn’t for the playoffs taking place in the Orlando Bubble, his team would have won the chip. Former Lakers star Kyle Kuzma certainly took offense to that claim and clapped back at the 34-year-old on Twitter.
“We were fortunate to get Kawhi,” Beverley said in an exclusive interview with Sports Illustrated. “We think we would’ve won a championship if it wasn’t for the bubble. But to come back and get to a Conference Finals with a hurt Kawhi – We’ve done a lot of good things here.”
Kuzma responded: “Yeah, because they didn’t want to be there, lol.”
Yeah cause they didn’t want to be there lol
— kuz (@kylekuzma) March 29, 2023
Kyle Kuzma was part of the Los Angeles Lakers when the team won the 2020 NBA Championship. Keeping that in mind, it’s only natural for the forward to get defensive about his former team.
As for Patrick Beverley’s claims, yes, the Clippers had a great roster that season, but it’s unfair to blame the entire burden of the defeat on the bubble. After all, they had a chance to at least reach the Western Conference Finals.
The Los Angeles Clippers Crumbled Under Pressure In The 2020 NBA Playoffs
The 2020 Los Angeles Clippers’ primary superstars were Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. But apart from them, the team had good role players and could’ve easily reached, at least until, the Western Conference Finals.
In fact, in the Western Conference Semifinals against the Denver Nuggets, the Clippers held a 3-1 lead in the series at one point. But the team crumbled under pressure as they blew that lead and were knocked out of the playoffs.
The Clippers still have a shot at winning an NBA title in the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George era. They have a stacked roster, and if they fail to win a ring this season, it will truly be hard for fans to defend the team.
The noisy neighbors of the L.A. Lakers are currently the fifth seed in the Western Conference with a 40-36 record. Can they finally reach the NBA Finals this season? We will find out in the upcoming weeks.
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