After further review, I'm starting to shade LA's 2020 title

[C3H6N6O6]

Do you understand the concept of chemistry and teams building up a rhythm and momentum through out the season? Well all that goes away with a 4 month break. Typically when the NBA takes 4 months off they call it an offseason. They when the NBA comes back after 4 months its considered a new season.

But the Lakers were the exception to the rule and somehow preserved their chemistry during the same 4-month break that every team was subjected to? Okay lol.

LeBron James, Lakers rumored to be holding secret workouts at a Staples Center replica facility

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/lebron-james-lakers-rumored-to-be-holding-secret-workouts-at-a-staples-center-replica-facility/

LOL. You were saying?

I guess he just wanted to win more. That makes that ring even more special. Lakers didn't win on talent, they won because of hard work.

Also, acting like every superstar can't do that in their own 1000 acre homes they own is funny.
New York was the only city in which there was a real lockdown in which players would not have been able to go to other player's homes to practice.

[Tracymcgoaty]

Totally legit. They won 4 playoffs series to get that championship. They didn't cheat.

Let's stop this bullsh*t.

The road to the title doesn't change the fact that they struggled against an injured Miami Heat Team. If the coin was on the other side the same people calling bullsh*t would say the samething about Jimmy Butler beating a Lebron James led team that was missing two key members of it's roster.

The 2020 Miami Heat team were in fact missing 2 of it's key players. This will forever be why I don't look at the 2020 title as anything celebrate. Heck Lebron fans should understand this considering they themselves bring up Kevin Love and Kyries being hurt in 2015 every chance the conversation of that years Finals is going on. So yeah. Let's not be hypocrites.

Alright then lets start putting asterisks on a lot of titles.

Raptors title is def an asterisk. They shouldn't celebrate that title because it wasn't deserved. KD and Klay got injured

bucks road to the title was filled with facing an injured nets team so i'd put that as an asterisk as well.


And it goes on and on and on.

[TwitterFingers]

I can’t say that. Every team played under the same circumstances. They all competed, and LA won. You can argue whether that year was tougher or easier, but a win is a win.

[Tracymcgoaty]

Anyone saying it wasnt legit would feel differently if it were the team they rooted for......

And thats where their argument completely shatters.

[inonba]

Wait, so you think the 2019-2020 Lakers, who were on pace to win 64ish games before the pandemic, would have lost in the first round to the Suns without CP3

So did the Suns go on a long losing streak whenever CP3 went down?

People perception should change as the world changes. In the current NBA, do you think one star can still alter the outcome of a playoff series?

Have you noticed, the top heavy super teams have all struggled in the recent years after the Warriors won their last title? The reason is quite simple. The game has changed. More specifically, the pace of the game has changed. Teams scoring 130 points are more and more common.

It's no surprise old age has finally caught up to LeBron, and why so many star players have been injured the last couple of seasons. The days where the super teams can coast into the playoffs are long gone. More specifically, one or two superstars cannot play 1 on 5 for 82 games.

While you may look at others and laugh. I'm looking at you the same way I'm looking at a county bumpkin whose mentality is stuck in yesteryear.

[Stalwart]

But the Lakers were the exception to the rule and somehow preserved their chemistry during the same 4-month break that every team was subjected to? Okay lol.

LeBron James, Lakers rumored to be holding secret workouts at a Staples Center replica facility

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/lebron-james-lakers-rumored-to-be-holding-secret-workouts-at-a-staples-center-replica-facility/

LOL. You were saying?

I guess he just wanted to win more. That makes that ring even more special. Lakers didn't win on talent, they won because of hard work.

Also, acting like every superstar can't do that in their own 1000 acre homes they own is funny.
New York was the only city in which there was a real lockdown in which players would not have been able to go to other player's homes to practice.

That's ridiculous

[C3H6N6O6]

LeBron James, Lakers rumored to be holding secret workouts at a Staples Center replica facility

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/lebron-james-lakers-rumored-to-be-holding-secret-workouts-at-a-staples-center-replica-facility/

LOL. You were saying?

I guess he just wanted to win more. That makes that ring even more special. Lakers didn't win on talent, they won because of hard work.

Also, acting like every superstar can't do that in their own 1000 acre homes they own is funny.
New York was the only city in which there was a real lockdown in which players would not have been able to go to other player's homes to practice.

That's ridiculous

I am just following your lead.

[Stalwart]

I guess he just wanted to win more. That makes that ring even more special. Lakers didn't win on talent, they won because of hard work.

Also, acting like every superstar can't do that in their own 1000 acre homes they own is funny.
New York was the only city in which there was a real lockdown in which players would not have been able to go to other player's homes to practice.

That's ridiculous

I am just following your lead.

You're just being ridiculous

[Onus]

A big enough contingent of players didn't even want to be in the bubble. They literally had to vote to continue to play in the bubble because there were so many players that didn't want to be there.

So many asterisk performances happened in the bubble. No travel, no crowds it was essentially a glorified scrimmage that happened to be aired on national tv.

[Slim Charlez]

In 20 years nobody is going to care that nobody watched, that it was in a bubble, that the lakers practiced at lebrons house during lockdown, that the Clippers choked under no pressure or any other ridiculous brain dead reason people try to come up with on here because they hate a guy who doesn't even know they exist. A title is a title. People count titles from the 60's where it was basically a semi pro league and a few teams had all the talent.

[KrAzY3]

But the Lakers were the exception to the rule and somehow preserved their chemistry during the same 4-month break that every team was subjected to? Okay lol.

LeBron James, Lakers rumored to be holding secret workouts at a Staples Center replica facility

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/lebron-james-lakers-rumored-to-be-holding-secret-workouts-at-a-staples-center-replica-facility/

LOL. You were saying?

I guess he just wanted to win more. That makes that ring even more special. Lakers didn't win on talent, they won because of hard work.

Also, acting like every superstar can't do that in their own 1000 acre homes they own is funny.
New York was the only city in which there was a real lockdown in which players would not have been able to go to other player's homes to practice.

Way more places other than New York had prohibitions on gatherings and you know it...

[C3H6N6O6]

LeBron James, Lakers rumored to be holding secret workouts at a Staples Center replica facility

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/lebron-james-lakers-rumored-to-be-holding-secret-workouts-at-a-staples-center-replica-facility/

LOL. You were saying?

I guess he just wanted to win more. That makes that ring even more special. Lakers didn't win on talent, they won because of hard work.

Also, acting like every superstar can't do that in their own 1000 acre homes they own is funny.
New York was the only city in which there was a real lockdown in which players would not have been able to go to other player's homes to practice.

Way more places other than New York had prohibitions on gatherings and you know it...

I could go to my friend's house and play on his court. Other NBA players were lazy and didn't choose to do so.

[Trey24]

The title counts but there is a definite asterisk.

The travel alone justifies the asterisk, and then when considering players like Lebron and AD were given privileges and luxuries in the bubble that other players didn't, PLUS the fact that, and OP made a great point, it was an abbreviated season, Lakers were literally working out as an entire team in a simulated staples center. Blah blah blah.

The asterisk exists.

[C3H6N6O6]

That's ridiculous

I am just following your lead.

You're just being ridiculous

I am following your lead in being ridiculous.

[Joshuan3]

Another thing no one brings up much is how the Lakers were practicing the entire time during covid (JJ Reddick confirmed it)

Read on Twitter

[KrAzY3]

I guess he just wanted to win more. That makes that ring even more special. Lakers didn't win on talent, they won because of hard work.

Also, acting like every superstar can't do that in their own 1000 acre homes they own is funny.
New York was the only city in which there was a real lockdown in which players would not have been able to go to other player's homes to practice.

Way more places other than New York had prohibitions on gatherings and you know it...

I could go to my friend's house and play on his court. Other NBA players were lazy and didn't choose to do so.

May be you by yourself could but you and a team could not in many places because to reiterate, there were prohibitions on gatherings. Calling people lazy for obeying the rules/law is absurd, but I think you are trying to be absurd.

The practice aside, the extended break+shortened season obviously benefited the Lakers. I think everyone knows that, but only some want to admit it.

In the past four seasons neither LeBron James nor Anthony Davis have played 70 games. The most they have played was during the Covid season where they had an extended break, otherwise in the other three seasons neither of them even played 60 games! It is abundantly clear that the circumstances benefited them, how you feel about that is a different story but that's the reality of the situation. A fully 82 game schedule without an extended break and it is highly unlikely either stays healthy, given they they haven't managed that one single time as Lakers.

[Cubbies2120]

But the Lakers were the exception to the rule and somehow preserved their chemistry during the same 4-month break that every team was subjected to? Okay lol.

LeBron James, Lakers rumored to be holding secret workouts at a Staples Center replica facility

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/lebron-james-lakers-rumored-to-be-holding-secret-workouts-at-a-staples-center-replica-facility/

LOL. You were saying?

I guess he just wanted to win more. That makes that ring even more special. Lakers didn't win on talent, they won because of hard work.

Also, acting like every superstar can't do that in their own 1000 acre homes they own is funny.
New York was the only city in which there was a real lockdown in which players would not have been able to go to other player's homes to practice.

While these alleged group workouts would be technically illegal under current NBA protocol, this Staples Center replica court is a way cooler topic of discussion.

Yeah, other teams could have broken NBA rules that were put into effect for the safety of players...

I get it though, the Lakers prioritized getting a ring over public safety (during a time when we didn't know the magnitude of the virus), kudos to them!

[giordunk]

Someone had to be the best team in the NBA that year and it was the Lakers.

[PistolPeteJR]

Do you understand the concept of chemistry and teams building up a rhythm and momentum through out the season? Well all that goes away with a 4 month break. Typically when the NBA takes 4 months off they call it an offseason. They when the NBA comes back after 4 months its considered a new season.

But the Lakers were the exception to the rule and somehow preserved their chemistry during the same 4-month break that every team was subjected to? Okay lol.

LeBron James, Lakers [b][size=150]rumored to be holding secret workouts at a Staples Center replica facility[/size][/b]

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/lebron-james-lakers-rumored-to-be-holding-secret-workouts-at-a-staples-center-replica-facility/

LOL. You were saying?

I was saying perhaps you should read more attentively.

[dshearn]

Everyone played under the same conditions...it is legit.

It is a hell of a what if for Miami Fans, but that is no different than countless teams that got injured at the wrong time.

What i would say.... it is a weak championship team. Nothing historic about it. Right place at the right time. I doubt it was incredibly rewarding for Laker Fans considering their storied history.