NBA Analyst Explains Why Lakers' 2020 Title Deserves A "Different Kind" Of Asterisk

The legitimacy of the Los Angeles Lakers' 2020 NBA championship, won in the Orlando "Bubble," is being debated again after Philadelphia 76ers executive Daryl Morey claimed many within the NBA privately view it as not a genuine title. However, NBA analyst Jon Krawczynski argues against this notion, stating the Lakers' title deserves a "different kind" of asterisk because winning in the Bubble was significantly harder, not easier, than a typical championship.

Krawczynski emphasized the immense mental challenge players faced: isolated from families under murky health circumstances during COVID-19, they played to provide normalcy for a shaken country. He described it as a unique mental endurance test. While acknowledging the environment was challenging mentally due to isolation and separation, the Lakers navigated it better than any other team.

The article counters the idea that the Lakers' win was a fluke ("lightning in a bottle"). Before the NBA suspended play, the Lakers held an impressive 49-14 record, establishing themselves as one of the league's best teams. They replicated this dominance in the Bubble, losing only three playoff games en route to defeating the Miami Heat in six games in the NBA Finals. Their only potential advantage was the extended break benefiting their veteran players.

Contrary to the unnamed individuals Morey referenced, players the Lakers defeated defended the title's legitimacy. Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo called the 2020 championship the hardest to win, and Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard argued it was difficult because everyone was fresh from the break, questioning why people discredit the Lakers' triumph.