Andrew Dawson, Contributing Writer |
The Los Angeles Lakers are NBA Champions after defeating the Miami Heat 106 to 93 in game six of the NBA Finals. The Lakers bested the Heat by winning four games to two and now won their franchises seventeenth championship, tying the Boston Celtics record for the most championships in the NBA. Lebron James was crowned Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the fourth time in his career becoming the first player in NBA history to win the award with three sperate teams. James scored 28 points, tallying up 14 rebounds and 10 assists. He was helped by teammate Anthony Davis who scored 19 points, had 15 rebounds and three assists.
After the game, James said, “I told Lakers owner Jeanie Buss when I came here, I was going to put this franchise back in the position where it belongs. To be a part of such an historical franchise, it’s just an unbelievable feeling.” Several Lakers players said they used NBA Legend Kobe Bryant as a sense of motivation during their historical playoff run. At the end every game Lebron James said Bryant’s famous quote “Job’s not finished” after getting the lead in the series.
Being crowned NBA Finals Champions for the seventeenth time in Lakers history topped off one of the most emotional seasons for the franchise. In late January, one of Lakers all-time great players, Kobe Bryant, died in a helicopter crash. Many of the players and executives within the organization had a close connection with the future hall of famer. Players were devastated, making it hard to focus on basketball. Then the season was postponed due to COVID-19 and players from all teams did not know if the season would get resumed. While the season was resumed, coaches and teammates had to stay in the bubble to prevent the spread of COVID-19. They were not allowed to see their families or their children. This quick change in plans caused by COVID-19 took a huge toll on the players health .
The Miami Heat were able to pull off a promising playoff run of their own, winning games three and five of the series. The Lakers jumped out to an early lead in the series after winning game one and two. When it looked like the Lakers were going to roll over the Heat, Jimmy Butler responded. Butler played 40 minutes in game three, scoring 40 points and having 11 rebounds. Butler led his team to a 115-104 victory, taking game three of the series. Butler averaged the most minutes in the entire series and in game five, he played 47 out of 48 minutes in the entirety of game five. After his post-game press conference, Butler could barely walk of the podium from exhaustion. He led the Heat in points after having 35-point triple double. Rookie Tyler Herro and second year player Bam Adebayo had breakout performances throughout the series, but the Heat had several key players get injured leading to a huge size advantage for the Lakers. Though this may be a heart-breaking loss for the Heat organization , they showed promise and may be the favored team to win the NBA Finals next season.
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