Daryl Morey Says the 2020 Title for the Lakers is "Forever Marked" By an Asterisk

The Athletic put together an oral history of the Bubble, five years later. Of course, that weird, (hopefully) never-to-be-repeated NBA season resulted in LA's most recent title, with the Lakers beating the Heat to earn a banner. 

No question, the whole thing was weird, and unlike any other title in the history of the game. But in that oral history, Sixers GM Daryl Morey (then with the Rockets, who were eliminated by the Lakers) revealed that many around the league put an asterisk on LA's victory: 

"Had the Rockets won the title, I absolutely would have celebrated it as legitimate, knowing the immense effort and resilience required. Yet, everyone I speak to around the league privately agrees that it doesn’t truly hold up as a genuine championship. Perhaps the lasting legacy of the NBA bubble is that the NBA should be proud of its leadership at both the beginning and end of the pandemic, even though the champion will forever be marked by an asterisk." 

So... really? 

To be clear, not everyone in this story agreed. Many who were there covering the event believe it was harder to win that tournament than any other. But no question, Morey's sentiment is a common one. That it was the Lakers who walked away with a title only enhances that belief, I'm sure. (Somehow, it seems likely there'd be fewer asterisks had, say, Denver won a ring.)

Meanwhile, ESPN has its first power rankings of the post-free agency era, and have the Lakers seventh in the West. Is that about right? 

And finally, ESPN's Dave McMenamin has a great story about Bronny James, which includes not only insight into Bronny's development, but how the Lakers approach this question more broadly. 

 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: Daryl Morey says asterisk!

 

SEGMENT 2: Why those people are wrong. 

 

SEGMENT 3: 7th in the West? Fair or not? 

 

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