The NBA was on a course to have one of the best and most exciting seasons we have seen in quite some time. There were so many different storylines with different possibilities. All of a sudden, Covid-19 happened and changed everything. Now, with the NBA restarting with a new format, what exactly does the 2020 NBA championship mean to a team now?
The 2020 NBA Championship: Does It Mean Anything?
Does It Even Count?
Many people believe that no matter who wins the 2020 NBA championship this year, it won’t fully count and will have an asterisk. Naturally, this is solely due to the circumstances in which the NBA championship was obtained. If you think this way, you may have a strong argument, but I would have to disagree. These are some of the hardest times we have ever experienced.
On top of that, this is uncharted territory for a lot of players and coaches. With lockdown in certain cities, players weren’t allowed to interact with teammates, coaches, or even go to the gym. Players were expected to workout from home. That can only do so much. Now with the season getting jumpstarted, players are going to have to work hard to get back into game shape. Refining skills, remembering sets, and rebuilding team chemistry on the fly is no easy task.
What About The Legacies?
Now, for certain players at the start of the season, a championship would have an impact on their legacy. For example, those players would be stars like Lebron James, Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo. There are many other players that fit that category, of course. So the question becomes if one of these players win a championship, will it count towards their legacies, or is it nullified because of COVID. It is a very interesting topic, but you also have to think back to the various lockout seasons we have had. The San Antonio Spurs won during a lockout season where there were only 50 games played. No one seems to complain too much about that title. Now, the circumstances were a bit different, but a shortened season is a shortened season, nonetheless.
Teams Back A Full Strength
One of the complaints some people may have is that teams who had injured players prior to the season canceling now seemingly have healthy rosters. One of the big questions was if Kevin Durant was going to play for the Brooklyn Nets with the return of the NBA season. He declined to play, but if he had, that would’ve made a major impact. But on the flip side of that argument, isn’t that what we, as fans, want anyway? Don’t we want teams and players at 100% to go all out to win the championship?
Circumstances are different, but the goal is still the same: to win the championship. So, a player like Jonathan Isaac of the Orlando Magic, who was supposed to miss the season due to a knee injury, is reported to be working his way back to playing again. Complaining that it isn’t fair won’t do anything. Instead, be happy that a player is coming back fully healthy because isn’t that what we all want?
Well, What Do You Think?
In my personal opinion, whoever wins the championship, there is no handicap or asterisk associated with it. These are difficult times and we are dealing with unknown territory. It’s certainly something we have never seen or faced before in our lives. That being said, this poses the ultimate challenge to the players, coaches, and the NBA as a whole. So, to me, whoever wins the championship will have had to endure even more than teams normally would under regular circumstances. All in all, a championship is a championship, and the season is fast approaching.
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