Shaquille O’Neal recently spoke to Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson about LeBron James potentially getting a statue with the Los Angeles Lakers. Shaq noted that he wouldn’t be opposed to LeBron being honored with a statue. O’Neal then defended the Lakers’ 2020 NBA championship win, noting that many try to unfairly discredit their win in the bubble, and by that same logic, Tim Duncan‘s 1999 lockout NBA title shouldn’t count.
“LeBron broke the record, and he did it as a Laker. Would I oppose him having a statue in Los Angeles? No, I wouldn’t. But the thing about the Lakers is that their fans are real greedy. ‘Okay, you got us this bubble championship, but when are you going to get us another?'”
“It’s always that. But he won a championship with the Lakers, and a lot of people try to discredit it. If that one doesn’t count, then you can’t count Mr. Duncan’s bubble championship either. That’s right. I said it! If we’re counting Tim Duncan’s lockout-year championship, then you have to count LeBron’s too.”
Shaq makes a very valid point about the Lakers’ 2020 NBA championship ring being discredited. Many have tried to make the argument that the Lakers were dealt a strong hand in the bubble, and it allowed them to take advantage and win the NBA championship. They add that the Clippers didn’t want to play there, and their exit was due to that reason.
That argument is flawed for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, how are we going to criticize a team for being successful because of another team’s failure? It’s not like the Lakers ducked the Clippers. They won all their series. But the Clippers fell at the second hurdle. The Clippers not reaching the Western Conference Finals is not the Lakers’ fault.
Secondly, people try using the argument about teams not having home-court advantage, which is utter malarchy.
The Lakers had the best record in the Western Conference that year and would have had home-court advantage over every other team in the West. On top of that, the team that faced them in the Finals, the Miami Heat, were an upset fifth seed and would have also not had home-court advantage against the Lakers.
If anything, playing in the bubble served as just much of a disadvantage for the Lakers as it did any other team. And those pretending that the Lakers were handed a ring on a silver platter or that this championship means less than others that have been won is a ridiculous notion that several unintelligent portions of the NBA fanbase have tried to claim as legitimate.
But they are a loud and vocal portion of the audience. And what better way to shut them down than to win another championship? The Lakers have the best roster they have had since 2020 and are looked at as legitimate title contenders should things go right for them in the playoffs.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
