NBA champion doesn’t deserve an asterisk after revamped playoff
Whichever team wins an NBA championship this season does not deserve to have an asterisk attached. That team deserves to have an exclamation point.
Yes, the season might be abbreviated. Yes, the playoffs might not feature bestof-seven series. Yes, the postseason will not reveal which team became most equipped to handle a hostile road environment, since they won’t play in front of fans. Nothing about the NBA’S 20019-20 season is normal. That became a reality as soon as the NBA suspended play on 11 after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the novel coronavirus. When the NBA holds a Board of Governors meeting on Friday, they will presumably offer more clarity on how and when they will resume play, likely at ESPN’S Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
In no way should circumstances, however, diminish the significance of this season’s NBA championship.
If anything, this year’s NBA champion should receive even more respect.
All NBA teams have already played more regular-season games than in the lockout shortened 1999 season (a 50game campaign). Another lockout resulted in a 66-game season in 2011-12 – every team this season has played between 63-67 games.
Additionally, whichever team hoists the Larry O’brien Trophy this year will have overcome obstacles that no other NBA team has ever faced.
Teams went nearly 21⁄2 months without having any formal practices or scrimmages. Teams may have benefited with the extra time for players to rest their legs, but they suffered with the halting of momentum they created for the first five months of the season. They became further tested on how to maintain a discimarch plined diet and experienced additional anxiety regarding the health of their loved ones. That explains why Clippers coach Doc Rivers has stressed to his team “to win the wait.” How teams master that challenge will likely play a major factor in determining who wins the NBA championship.
Whichever team wins the NBA championship this season will likely credit how it spent its time when the league halted play. That team will see how those circumstances tested and shaped its journey. And it will have further appreciation for holding the trophy after overcoming those obstacles.