Jamal Murray Defends The Lakers’ 2020 Championship: “That Was The Highest Level Of Basketball Being Played…”

Jamal Murray explains why the 2020 championship was harder than others.

3 Min Read

Credit: Kim Klement -- USA TODAY Sports

In the year of COVID, civil unrest, and lockdown restrictions, the Los Angeles Lakers somehow found a way to prevail. In what was, arguably, the strangest season in league history, it was LeBron James who led the Purple and Gold to the top and he has been trying desperately to get them back there ever since.

Looking back, it’s hard to draw too many conclusions on that 2020 season as far too many variables were at play. Still, it hasn’t stopped fans from calling it the easiest title run ever.

But in a chat with Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks, Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray argued the opposite.


Jamal Murray Adds Weight To Lakers’ 2020 Bubble Championship

According to Murray, the lack of distractions in the bubble itself (during the playoffs in Orlando, specifically) put the game in its purest form.

“I think that was the highest level of basketball being played, because it was only basketball,” Murray told Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks. “Guys were so locked in. You go to the gym. You have shootaround. You eat. You play. Win or lose, you’re in your room or you go back to the gym.”

While there are many haters and doubters who completely disagree with Murray here, there are also plenty of people who share his view, including former NBA guard Gilbert Arenas.

In a scene on his podcast, he explained why he feels that the 2020 championship was actually the hardest to win, not the easiest.

“People are like man that was the easiest championship. I say technically, technically that is the hardest championship because it’s LeBron [James] and the Lakers,” Arenas said. “Now, when you think about the fan base of the Laker team and a LeBron team, every arena they would have went it in, he was fan favorite. So when you are in a Bubble, it took the fans’ favorite out of them. Now you don’t get booed at your own home.”

The bubble season will always be remembered in the NBA history books. It was a time of uncertainty for the entire world, and not even the game of basketball went untouched.

People will always have their own opinions on that run and the level of difficulty involved in pulling it off. But a win is a win, and it counts just as much as all the others for the Purple and Gold.

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Nico Martinez is a veteran staff writer for Fadeaway World from Brooklyn, New York. He joined Fadeaway World in 2016 and is currently residing in Columbia, South Carolina. Nico holds a degree in Sports Management from Columbia International University where he built a strong foundation in the inner workings of sports media and management. Nico's contributions have significantly enhanced the credibility and depth of Fadeaway World's content, earning him recognition across the sports journalism community. His work has been discussed in prestigious publications like Sports Illustrated. A dedicated follower of LeBron James, Nico often leads coverage on news related to the basketball star. With nearly a decade of experience in sports journalism, Nico consistently provides comprehensive and timely basketball news, engaging a wide audience of basketball enthusiasts.Nico's most desired player to interview, past or present, is Kevin Durant. He is particularly keen on asking Durant if he has any regrets about his career, especially concerning his departure from the Oklahoma City Thunder, and why he engages so much with fans on social media. 
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