Lakers, Storm Burst Basketball Bubble

The National Basketball Association was the first professional sports league to call a halt to its season when Covid-19 got serious in March.  Seven months later, after moving their playoffs to Walt Disney World in Florida, the NBA finally crowned a champion. 

It is the Los Angeles Lakers, who beat the Miami Heat in six games.  For the Lakers, it was their 17th NBA title (that includes five in Minneapolis), tying them with the Boston Celtics for the most championships in the league's history.  For LeBron James, it was his fourth title with three different teams (the Lakers, Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers).

Despite the play of Miami's Jimmy Butler, for whom no one will ever call a team-killing malcontent ever again, the Lakers seemed preordained to win.  Not only because of James' presence, but also as a tribute to Kobe Bryant, who with his daughter was killed in a helicopter crash in January. 

The WNBA played their shortened season and playoffs in a bubble of their own in Bradenton, Florida.  The Seattle Storm, led by stars Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart, swept the Las Vegas Aces in three games. 

The bubble format worked out for both leagues, with no games postponed or canceled due to players getting sick or testing positive for COVID-19.  Other leagues such as the NHL and Major League Soccer have also done it successfully.  Outside the bubble, the NFL, Major League Baseball and college football have had problems keeping everyone healthy. 

Even though the players from the NBA and WNBA were sequestered inside the bubble, they didn't forget the social unrest going on outside. Courts and uniforms were adorned with Black Lives Matter, "Say Her Name", remembrances of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black victims of police brutality. The only postponements had to do with players protesting the shooting of Jacob Blake by Kenosha, Wisc. police, and the demonstrations that followed. (According to WTMJ in Milwaukee, Blake is recovering.)

It must be noted that all this activism by the players would not have been possible without the bubble. If fans had been allowed to attend games in their home arenas and players so much as took a knee during the National Anthem, the backlash would have been significant. 

Whether this experiment continues into next season depends on how long it takes for the coronavirus vaccine to be approved for use, if ever. The most the NBA can hope for is a shortened season that ends by early summer, and a return to arenas (though Toronto might be a problem).  Otherwise, Lakers and Storm fans can rejoice responsibly in winning championships in a most unusual year.