NBA
Anthony Davis says Los Angeles Lakers didn’t need The Bubble to win it all
Mat Issa is based in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Yes, he spells his name with one "t." He's obsessed with NBA history, so much so that he's dedicated nearly two years of research to his two mini-series', "Blazing the Trail" and "The Quest for the Best." Right now, Mat goes to law school and writes about the NBA for The Analyst, Forbes, and of course, Basketball Insiders. His work has also been featured in ESPN, SB Nation, FanSided, Basketball News, ONE37pm, and Raptors Republic. Also, he's a lifelong Spartans fan. Go Green!
All posts by Mat IssaUpdated15 Feb 2024
The 2019-20 NBA Season may be the craziest year in the league’s history. The reason for this is that the league shut down on March 11, 2020, over safety concerns caused by the COVID-19 virus. It remained this way for nearly four months until the NBA resumed play in Orlando, Florida, in what is now referred to by many folks as “The Bubble.”
As a result, many people often attach an asterisk next to the team that won the title that year (the Los Angeles Lakers). However, it appears that Anthony Davis is not one of those people.
Bound To Win It Anyways
In Davis’ eyes, the fact that the NBA season had to be suspended for four months didn’t change the trajectory of the playoffs. To him, the Lakers were so dominate that they were going to win the NBA title anyways. Here is what he said on an episode of The Backyard Podcast:
“People talk about, ‘Aw, the Lakers Championship. Oh, it wasn’t real, ‘The Bubble’…we were running through the league. We were gonna win anyway.”
Is Davis Right?
Obviously, as an integral part of the Lakers team that won the NBA title in 2019-20, Davis is going to believe that his championship was inevitable and, therefore, legitimate. But is he right?
On March 11, 2020, the Lakers had the second-best win percentage in the NBA (77.8%). They also had the sixth-best offensive rating, third-best defensive rating, and second-best point differential (per Cleaning the Glass).
Based on the criteria we’ve outlined before on what it historically takes to be a title contender, the Lakers clearly looked like a championship team on paper. So, while we will never know for certain, Davis is probably right. The Lakers were a damn good team, even without the help they may/may have not gotten from The Bubble.
