The Los Angeles Lakers (along with the other 29 teams in the Association) have dealt with a nearly equal amount of “ups” compared to “downs” this season. Kobe Bryant tragically passed away in January, followed by his extremely emotional memorial in February, then came coronavirus in March to suspend the season that had the Lakers as favorites to win it all. Add in the unrest that is happening in this country in light of police brutality, and this truly has been the rockiest season in Lakers history. Many pundits have wondered if an aterisk should be put next to this year’s champion, given the fact that this is far from an ordinary NBA season. Yesterday, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks said the following about winning a championship (courtesy of Eric Woodyard/ESPN):
“I feel like a lot of people say that there’s gonna be a star next to this championship. I feel like, at the end of the day, this is gonna be the toughest championship you could ever win — because the circumstances are really, really tough right now. So whoever wants it more is going to be able to go out there and take it.”
Lakers’ head coach Frank Vogel was asked if he concurs with Giannis’ statement, adding the following (courtesy of Lauren Jones of The LA Sentinel and Dave McMenamin of ESPN):
“It’s interesting he says that because that’s exactly how I feel about it. Our team has been through a lot this year and we’ve endured and stood strong. If we’re able to come through all of this with the ultimate prize than it deserves a harder-than-ordinary-asterisks if you give it an asterisk at all.”
Frank Vogel agrees with Giannis Antetokounmpo that this will be the toughest championship ever. 🏆
“It’s interesting he says that because that’s exactly how I feel about it. Our team has been through a lot this year and we’ve endured and stood strong… (cont.)
— Laurantine (@LoJoMedia) July 1, 2020
There’s been plenty of talk on whether or not there should be an “asterisk” on the championship this season, since this is far from a normal NBA season. Many say that in terms of diminishing the 2019-20 champion, with Vogel arguing that an asterisk should be put next to the champion’s name for it being much tougher than any normal championship.
Either way, I’m going to continue to just worry about this season even happening as coronavirus continues to rise across our country.
