Change My View: The Bubble championship is the most pure championship ever

[ScrantonBulls]

The reasoning is simple. The playing field was dead even every game. Neither team had home court. Home court advantage is a REAL thing. The odds show it. That could be because of the gone team being more comfortable and getting cheered, or because refs unconsciously have slight bias towards the home team because of the pressure of the crowd.

NEITHER team had home court. It was completely fair in that aspect. One team doesn't have to sleep in hotels while the other got to sleep in their cozy mansion. Neither had the burden of traveling. The resting and traveling conditions were identical.

The bubble year was the most even playing field ever. All conditions were equal for the teams. Never before have the conditions been so equal. That's what makes it the purest championship ever.

[mastermixer]

Lakers fan checking in.

Everything you said is true but you left off one part.

It took a good amount of time to transition into the bubble. I think the players were off for a month or even two before they got into the bubble.

This time off was hugely beneficial to veteran teams and especially the Lakers. It allowed LeBron and especially AD time to recover from bumps, bruises, and injuries of the regular season. They came into the playoffs extremely fresh and rested.

Ads biggest problem up until that point was not his talent, but his health and longevity.

It wasn’t the bubble itself, but the time between the regular season and the bubble that provided the Lakers and other veteran teams a huge advantage.

Lakers happen to have the best combination of taking advantage of the health, being talented, and being extremely dialed in as well.

There were other veteran and talented teams that just couldn’t get dialed in like the Lakers were

[Kingdibs19]

Not mentioned enough is the Lakers had the best record in the league that year and to OP’s point had essentially lost their home court advantage but still won the chip.

TLDR; OP is correct but Lebron haters will never admit it.

[Optms]

Not to mention the Lakers were old. And it obviously takes older players more time to get going. No old team ever started any regular season red hot.

Making bubble chip more legit. RealGMers just can't handle it.

[Wargreymon]

I agree with OP. This was a once in a generational championship that we've never witnessed circumstances like this ever. Having to wear masks off the court and being isolated from family and friends too. No social life or clubbing. The mental strain off the court coupled with the physical strain on the court..It's without a doubt the most difficult championship in NBA history and the Lakers organization and their fans should be celebrated forever in basketball lore with an eternal legacy.

[Sgt Major]

I agree and I said that many times here.

No traveling (except Harden), no crowd pressure, no climate differences, just the purest basketball possible.

However, all that casts a shadow over that playoffs, as other teams had to overcome more difficult conditions to win a championship.

It's the purest title in terms of basketball, but a bit easier than others due to huge differences in additional non-court factors.

[evilpimp972]

There's nothing pure about playing basketball without crowds. No way.
Might as well watch those Dream team practice

[Dez]

Yeah no crowds made it just look a YMCA game.

Crowds bring pressure and the best players thrive under pressure and the spotlight.

The bubble didn't have that.

[Kingdibs19]

Most the comments against the Bubble championship is less pressure from no crowds. I mean I get that argument if an 8th seed won but again the Lakers had the best record, they would’ve benefited from HCA and had that stripped away. And do we really think no crowds is a benefit to the best close-out player of all time? High pressure situations benefit Lebron, he’s been there plenty of times and always rose to the challenge whereas most his opponents have not.

[SpreeS]

To play PS after 82 games is one thing. To play PS after resting 3/4 months is other thing especially for veterans and injury prone teams.

[doogie_hauser]

Meh, I think the Bubble Championship is a legit championship, but the Lakers haven't come close to repeating or winning another chip since.

Admittedly, a significant part of that is due to Lakers mismanagement from the Lakers Front Office.

[Revived]

Playing in front of crowds is what adds pressure. The pressure is what many players cannot play under.

There’s guys at parks all across America that are crazy athletic and can shoot, score, defend, dunk etc all at a high level, even better than NBA players but their day job is selling insurance or working solar panels. Why? Because they could never do those things under the pressure of thousands watching live in college or pros or wherever.

[SweaterBae]

How may accounts does one and done, godymas, etc, have? Good grief. Ban em all.

[Hitman88]

Nope, Lebron has months to recover his body. So essentially is it not a full season because of the huge rest.

[dirkdiggler4177]

Playing in front of crowds is what adds pressure. The pressure is what many players cannot play under.

There’s guys at parks all across America that are crazy athletic and can shoot, score, defend, dunk etc all at a high level, even better than NBA players but their day job is selling insurance or working solar panels. Why? Because they could never do those things under the pressure of thousands watching live in college or pros or wherever.

This argument would make sense if it was some sort of choking LeBron James we are talking about, but that guy has been doing a lot of winning. Like the dude is the record leader in playoff games (but he played in the east)

I sort of agree with OP, but I would not call it pure, but rather different, but just as important as the others because they all competed on the same premiss. Like LeBron got more recovery, but isn't that a good thing Don't you want to play against healthy players? Like the Celtics, this playoffs ran through a super injured east. Every series the other team was missing their best player(s) because of injuries.

[baldur]

Nope, Lebron has months to recover his body. So essentially is it not a full season because of the huge rest.

does recovery only apply to lebron?

[baldur]

sometimes lakers hatred makes people blind.

lakers was the most disadvantageous team as they lost their home court advantage in every round.

[nikster]

Nope, Lebron has months to recover his body. So essentially is it not a full season because of the huge rest.

does recovery only apply to lebron?

Seriously, I think people over gloss over the fact that the Clippers were seen as the biggest threat to the Lakers and I think were the preseason title favorites. That ended up being their only healthy post season in 5 years and they were a veteran team too. But they blew the opportunity. Plus Lakers were the only contender to lose a rotation player due to the bubble (Bradley).

I wouldn't call it the only pure title but anybody diminishing the Lakers title is ridiculous

[Bankai]

Nope. NBA had Coaches missing games and Players missing games at any time. It was too unpredictable and a pure crapshoot.

[Godymas]

It is, anyone that attempts to discredit the championship is doing a disservice.

Remember, these grown man athletes were stuck in the bubble playing for a championship with NO WIVES AND GIRLFRIENDS