In a guest appearance on the ‘Run Your Race’ podcast, Clippers swingman Terance Mann sparked debate after claiming that the Clippers would have won the 2020 championship. According to Mann, his team could have won it all that year had the season been able to finish out like normal.
“Yes,” replied Mann when asked if the Clippers would have won the Championship if it wasn’t in the bubble. “We won 12 of our last 13… they [Paul George and Kawhi Leonard] work hard. No matter all the stuff that people have to say, they work hard.”
Terance Mann says the Clippers would have won the Championship if it wasn’t in the bubble.
(via @TidalLeague Run Your Race Pod) pic.twitter.com/SPLHcOJeDD
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) October 12, 2023
With the COVID-19 pandemic in its infancy, 2020 was a strange time for the NBA world. Despite being halfway through the season, games were pushed back for weeks as lockdowns ensued all across the globe. It wasn’t until weeks later that the season would resume, but by then, the Clippers had lost all their momentum.
That year was another disappointment for the Clippers, who lost in the second round after going up 3-1 over the Denver Nuggets. It got even worse for them as they watched their biggest rivals, the Lakers, raise the Larry O’Brien trophy a few weeks later.
NBA Fans React To Mann’s Bold Claim
Often cited as the least-deserved title in NBA history, the Lakers’ 2020 Finals win caused some division within the community but you have to credit the Lakers for getting the job done while everybody else folded under the pressure. For the Clippers, in particular, fans just aren’t buying that they would have won the title that year, considering the team’s history of blowing opportunities.
Could have sworn every team faced the exact same circumstances and environment in 2020… 🙄
— Joel (@Joel4Yeshua) October 12, 2023
Y’all gotta let the bubble slander go bruh ESPECIALLY THE CLIPPERS TEAM THAT BLEW A 3-1 LEAD TO THE NUGGETS.
— Michael (@MichaelGBoston) October 12, 2023
The bubble is the reason they blew a 3-1 series lead to the Nuggets? Okay. 👍🏾
— Dem Boyz Fan (@cobey3) October 12, 2023
If if was a fifth, we would be drunk. They couldn't deal with Jokic but by some miracle if they beat Denver how they deal with AD?
— Cedric (@TheRealBigHoopz) October 12, 2023
— LeCurry. (@Curry4daW) October 12, 2023
The NBA bubble was an unprecedented experience for everyone, especially the players. For weeks, guys had to suit up and play out the season in an alien city, under quarantine without friends or family. The games were unlike anything seen before, with no crowds and limited media availability. Considering everything involved, it makes sense why the Clippers and other teams lost focus and motivation to close out the season but it’s a chance that they’ll never get back. Fast forward years later, and fans are still wondering where it all went wrong for LA. While the simple answer is that the Nuggets were simply a better team at the time, Mann isn’t the only one who feels that the Clippers were poised to win it all before the bubble got in their way.
Did The Clippers Give Up In The 2020 Playoffs?
You have to give the Lakers credit for staying focused and bringing home the prize during a season of unprecedented challenges. The death of Kobe earlier that year helped push the Lakers to persevere until the end, but the Clippers had no such motivator during their playoff run. In fact, according to the testimony of veteran swingman Marcus Moris, his team pretty much checked out when it was time to report to the bubble in Orlando that summer.
“We only lost that s— because we were in the bubble,” said Marcus Morris Sr. “[If] we weren’t in the bubble, we’d beat the s— out of them. Put that on the record. … Guys are out of their comfort zone. Kudos to Denver.”
There’s no going back to change the past now, but it’s hard to deny that the bubble played a huge role in how the season played out in 2020. But where the Lakers were able to rise above the rest and overcome the challenges of NBA quarantine, the Clippers wilted under the pressure and wasted one of their best chances to win the title.
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