Rounding off the longest season in NBA history with a dominant final flourish, the Lakers won it all for the first time in a decade.After three hundred-fifty six days, the
season began and the Lakers won the 2019-20 NBA season with help of the Lebron James and Anthony Davies’s outstanding performances.
In a 106-93 closeout Game 6 of the NBA Finals against his former team the Miami Heat, Lebron James pulled off a triple double– 28 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists — to win
his 4 fourth NBA finals MVP award and fourth ring. He has won the championship with three different franchises (Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers) now. Anthony Davis added 19 points to the scoreline and 15 rebounds.
After failing to beat the Heat in game 5, Lakers coach Frank Vogel changed his starting lineup, moving Davis to the 5 and replacing Dwight Howards with Alex Caruso for a smaller but quicker group.
The move seemed to give L.A. a boost: They led 28-20 after the first quarter and by as many as 30 in the first half. They outscored Miami 36-16 in the second quarter. L.A.’s 28-point halftime lead was the second largest in NBA history just behind Celtics’s 30 point lead in game 1 of the 1985 NBA finals.
Miami’s ace Jimmy Butler, who made a 40-point triple-double in game 3 and a 35 -point triple-double which helped them secure a win in game 5, was finally stopped in his tracks by the Lakers in game 6 being able to only score 12 points.
Entering the 2019-20 NBA season debate raged who would claim the crown of being the top dog this season.With Kawhi Leonard fresh off a Finals MVP performance with the Toronto Raptors and Giannis Antetokuonmpo setting up back to back MVP seasons, Lebron James’ reign at the top of the NBA seemed to have several contenders coming for the crown, especially following the Lakers’ absence in the 2018-19 playoffs.
However, just as in his past years in the NBA he rose up to the occasion changing his game by becoming the best in the league as he continued to seize control of the Lakers offence. He made the most assists in the league and led the Los Angeles Lakers to the top of the Western conference. His combination with Anthony Davis had been sublime to say the least.
After playing his 10th NBA finals and winning his fourth Championship, Lebron has without a doubt proven to us that he is still the centre of the NBA until proven otherwise.
The last time the Lakers raised the Larry O’Brien trophy was in 2010, when they beat Boston and this year was the Lakers’ 17th NBA championship and now they have now tied with the Celtics who last defeated a Kobe Bryant led L.A team in 2008, for the most NBA finals wins in history.
Next season will be the 75th season of NBA. With the stage set for the 2020-21 season, will the Lakers hold on to their crown or will there be a new king of the jungle.
Written By: Monem Shahariar
Edited By: Raynul Huda