Tenth to First: The Lakers' Journey to the 2020 NBA Championship

Nobody thought that the Los Angeles Lakers would be hoisting the Larry O' Brien trophy at the end of the 2019-2020 National Basketball Association (NBA) season. Even though they acquired Anthony Davis in a blockbuster trade during the 2019 offseason, many people were consistently doubting the Lakers on whether or not they can make a deep run in the playoffs. In fact, some were even doubting if the LeBron James-Anthony Davis tandem was enough for the Lakers to make the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

On Monday (Manila time), the Los Angeles Lakers got the job done by beating the Miami Heat, 106-93 in Game Six of the 2020 NBA Finals to clinch the franchise's 17th championship. LeBron James led the way with 28 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists and clinched his fourth Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. As dominant as the Lakers were in most parts of the playoffs, it wasn't an easy journey considering the situation the entire world is facing due to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic and, the social injustices that have been rocking the United States for so long that it even triggered a boycott inside the NBA bubble in Orlando. And even before the pandemic, the Lakers faced tremendous challenges. In the words of Coach Frank Vogel during the awarding ceremony, "We've been through a lot"

There was the signing of both Dwight Howard and Jared Dudely when the Lakers had the opportunity to reunite LeBron James with one of his closest friends: Carmelo Anthony. There was the question of whether or not the Lakers could be a legitimate contender for the title as even though they were winning, they weren't winning against "elite" teams such as the Los Angeles Clippers and the Milwaukee Bucks. Then, tragedy shocked the entire basketball community when Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gigi Bryant, and seven others lost their lives in a horrific helicopter accident last January.  Honoring the legendary Black Mamba became one of the main motivators for the Lakers to win it all and in fact, they were on a roll when March 2020 came around. They even scored two wins against the Bucks and the Clippers.

Then, the pandemic happened and the NBA stopped with the entire world. For months, there was no picture as to how the NBA would resume or worse, will the NBA going to continue. Then, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver came up with the bubble idea. There were doubts but it worked.

Once the seeding games began last July, the Lakers were outmanned as Avery Bradley who opted not to go inside the Orlando bubble and, Rajon Rondo who was injured entering the bubble. The team was shaky like everyone else as they only went 2-6 in their eight seeding games but it was more than enough for the Purple and Gold to secure the top seed in the Western Conference. 

When the playoffs began, the Lakers were pitted against the Portland Trail Blazers- a team whom some can score an upset against the Lakers. Portland did win Game One of the first round but the Lakers went on to win the next four games of the series.  Then, it was the Houston Rockets in the second round, and like in the previous round, the Lakers dropped the opener but won the next four contests against the smaller Rockets. It also helped the Lakers that Rajon Rondo was able to re-join the squad in Game One of the West semifinals.  In the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers were pitted against the Denver Nuggets who overcame not one but two 3-1 series deficits with the last one against the Clippers. The Lakers won the first two games of the West Finals with Davis hitting a buzzer-beating three-pointer in Game Two. Los Angeles had an opportunity to go up 3-0 in Game Three but the Nuggets held on. Davis and company went on to win the next two games en route to the team's first trip to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010. 

Facing a Miami Heat squad who was instantly tagged as the underdogs, The Lakers quickly scored big wins in the first two games of the best-of-seven series but Miami responded with a big Game Three victory. Game Four went to the Lakers and that set up an opportunity for the Lakers to win the title in Game Five. However, Jimmy Butler and company denied a championship celebration as the Heat scored a hard-fought Game Five win. And that was for Miami as Game Six saw the Lakers breaking the game wide open in the second quarter where they unleashed 36 points while limiting the Heat to 16 points. 

LeBron James and Anthony Davis both lost in the race for the season MVP and the Defensive Player of the Year awards respectively but in the end, it was about the bigger picture. In the end, James and Davis were the ones hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy. As one of the commentators said at the end of Game Six, "This historic 2020 NBA championship belongs to the Los Angeles Lakers"

The Lakers finished the 2018-2019 season in tenth place in the Western Conference with a 37-45 slate. On Monday, they walked out of the court as champions. Again. What an incredible journey it has been. 

Photo is from Silver Screen and Roll