The Los Angeles Lakers were well on their way to making a deep playoff run as they had established themselves as one of the few championship contenders during the 2019-20 NBA season.
They compiled a 49-14 record and had been playing their basketball before the season was immediately put on hiatus due to the coronavirus (COVID-19).
The timing of the pandemic was truly unlucky as the Lakers now will have to find a way to rebuild that in-season rhythm and momentum when or if the regular season does continue at some point. There are numerous challenges to get there such as practice time, game competition, venues, etc. and that is something the league office and owners will have to sort out in the coming months.
As of right now, the only thing players and everyone else can do is speculate on who might have come away with the 2020 NBA championship. Trae Young revealed on Instagram why he had the Lakers winning the 2020 NBA Finals, via Bleacher Report:
“Bron was on a different mission. It was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Trae explained why he had the Lakers winning it all this season and talked Bron in year 17.
(via @TheTraeYoung) pic.twitter.com/hkWiVTFfOb
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 4, 2020
LeBron James had one of his most efficient seasons despite being in Year 17 of his career as he assumed the role of point guard and ended up leading the league in assists. James was also noticeably healthy as he was able to perform on the defensive end as well, showing that he has enough juice in the tank to hang with the rest of the league’s premier players.
James and the rest of the Lakers have been keeping up with their workout regimens to stay ready for a possible return to the court but right now, that all is up in the air given the current health crisis in the country. Depending on how long the stay-at-home orders continue, the time off will prove to be detrimental to the team as it will take them much longer to ramp up activity and get back into playing shape.
For now, it will be interesting to see just how the Lakers look if basketball does indeed resume.