The Los Angeles Lakers won the 2020 NBA Finals many months after the 2019-20 season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NBA resumed its season in the Orlando, Fla. bubble in late July, and Los Angeles went on to beat the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat in the playoffs to win the title.
Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas recently explained why he thinks the Lakers’ 2020 title was the “hardest championship” to win.
“When people was like, ‘Man, that was the easiest championship.’ I said, ‘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 a Laker team and a LeBron team, every arena they would’ve went in, he was fan favorite.
“So, when you’re in a bubble, it took the fans favorite out of him. Now you don’t get booed at your own home.”
Arenas makes an interesting point. The Lakers and the rest of the league were in a totally different environment in the NBA’s bubble.
Also, the Lakers were the No. 1 seed in the West and would’ve had home-court advantage throughout the playoffs had games been played at the team’s home arenas.
Regardless, the Lakers were able to come out on top and will savor one of the strangest and most memorable championships in NBA history.
