Last decade, in 2010, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers won their 16th ring of the franchise. Since Bryant’s passing, the Lakers have not won a championship until this year’s NBA Finals. On October 11, 2020, the Los Angeles Lakers won their 17th ring against the Miami Heat with the help of some of their key players such as LeBron James, Rajon Rondo, Danny Green, Anthony Davis, and others. The Heat tried their hardest against the Lakers but unfortunately, lost the series 2-4.

The 2020 NBA Finals has been a completely different experience, not only for the fans, but also for the teams that have played. This year, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, teams played in what was called, “The Bubble,” located at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida.

The teams that have competed in this year’s playoffs were the Lakers, Trailblazers, Rockets, Thunder, Nuggets, Jazz, Clippers, and the Mavericks from the West. From the East, the teams that have played were the Bucks, Magic, Pacers, Heat, Celtics, 76ers, Raptors, and the Nets.

As the Finals approached, only two teams made it out of their conferences: the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat.

The Lakers and the Heat have duked it out until the sixth game, out of the seven-game series.

Senior Angelo Lorusso was happy the Lakers won. He said, “I’m happy with the outcome as I’m a Lakers fan. Seeing them absolutely explode in the first half was an amazing experience. They came in knowing what they had to fix from Game 5 and proved themselves in Game 6 with a championship.”

Unfortunately for the Heat, the Lakers have arised from their 10-year slumber and were finally able to achieve another championship for the organization. The Lakers have blown out the Blazers, Rockets, and the Nuggets to make their appearance in the Finals and eventually defeat the Miami Heat.

LeBron James, veteran NBA and All-Star player, made history this Finals earning his fourth ring of his career. Rajon Rondo also won his second ring of his career (one with the Celtics and one with the Lakers). Anthony Davis, former Pelicans star, has finally earned his first ring of his career. Regarding James’ outstanding performance in the Finals, he has also earned his fourth Finals MVP award, and is also the first player to earn Finals MVP with three different teams.

James’ legacy is now evolving as people are putting him into the GOAT (greatest of all time) debate against Michael Jordan. Many fans view James as the GOAT, but only time will tell how much more he could achieve to close the gap even more between himself and Jordan.

Though, according to Lorusso, he believes that James would’ve been able to achieve more to close the gap, “As this was Lebron James’s 10th finals appearance, it’s only surprising that this is his 4th ring. The super team, the Golden State Warriors, stopped James from getting more than 4 rings as they were a force to be reckoned with.”

Rondo and Davis are also major key players in the road to acquire another championship for the Lakers. Both players performed exceptionally well against the Miami Heat and even debate arose about Davis being the Finals MVP over James.

Sophomore Noah Zamora opposes that stance and argues that, “I don’t think Anthony Davis needed the MVP because even though he did make the team better after coming from the Pelicans, Lebron is also getting older but he was making very smart plays and finding open teammates.”

With the help of Rajon Rondo and Anthony Davis, James’ abilities are maximized and optimized to their fullest potential and has a great chance at overcoming Jordan’s abilities and overall, becoming the GOAT. Lorusso said, “sooner or later, depending on how much longer Lebron plays, he has high potential of being the GOAT representation.”

On the other hand, the Heat performed exceptionally well in the East, blowing out nearly every team they faced which were the Pacers, Bucks, and the Celtics. Many fans were utterly surprised at their performance throughout the playoffs.

Zamora said, “Miami Heat’s performance was very unexpected due to the fact that they were the 5th seed but they did have a very good team to almost win a championship.”

Lorusso also agrees by explaining that, “The Miami Heat did better than anyone would’ve ever thought. Jimmy Butler proved to be a dominant player with help from Duncan Robinson, Tyler Herro, and Bam Adebayo. This team had many powerful weapons, and overall had an amazing performance against the 1st seed (the Bucks).”

Fans have seen Jimmy Butler perform fantastic and nothing less than good in the playoffs. In addition to that, Tyler Herro, rookie from the University of Kentucky, has performed unusually well in the playoffs and especially, the FInals.

Lorusso said, “Tyler Herro, being only 20 years old performed very well and this is his first finals appearance. We can definitely see him as a future star as it only gets better from here. He is the youngest player to play in an NBA Finals game, and he went on the court and acted like he has been there before.”

Other players have also contributed key roles in the playoffs such as Bam Adebayo, Goran Dragic, Duncan Robinson, and others. Though Jimmy Butler appears to be the most prominent of the bunch. He has worked hard to help his team get to the point where they were.

Lorusso said, “Jimmy Butler did absolutely all that he could. With Dragic not being a participant throughout most of the finals, Butler had to fill in that gap. With game 5, Jimmy Butler had 48 seconds of rest through the entirety of that game and still managed to get a triple double. Jimmy Butler definitely proved himself as a star and will continue to do so and keep building himself and his team.

Zamora couldn’t agree more. He said,”Jimmy Butler’s performance was amazing due to the fact that this is technically his first year on the Miami Heat roster and most of the team is fairly new to the league.”

The ending of the 2020 playoffs of the NBA, has marked a significant point in NBA history. The 2021 NBA season will be a totally different year for not only the atmosphere, but for the teams that will be competing to be able to qualify for the playoffs. Many teams such as the Brooklyn Nets and the Golden State Warriors, were unable to make the playoffs for 2020 due to injuries. Now that key players such as Kevin Durant of the Nets, and the Splash Brothers (Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson), are going to make a return to the NBA fully rested and healed, and will have a major impact on the outcome of the season and postseason. In addition to that, many trades will occur, and rosters will be changed as teams will try to become the strongest they possibly can.

Though only time can tell what will happen for the future 2021 season of the NBA, and what will occur for the futures of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat.