The Los Angeles Lakers were rolling. Just over a month ago the team beat the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers, the two teams who could potentially win the NBA Championship over the Lakers, in back-to-back games.
They were first place in the Western Conference, LeBron James and Anthony Davis were both putting up years that deserved MVP consideration and the supporting cast, although not perfect, exceeded most people’s expectations.
The Lakers seemed destined for championship number 17, tying the Boston Celtics for the most championships in NBA history. LeBron James would win championship number four, inching him closer to recent comparable greats in Kobe Byrant and Michael Jordan in ring count.
Anthony Davis would get the championship to truly kickstart his legacy in his career, Rajon Rondo would join Clyde Lovellette on the list of players to win a championship with both the Lakers and the Celtics, Dwight Howard would get the one thing that has alluded him thus far in his Hall of Fame-worthy career.
Destiny was not meant to be. Basketball stopped. The entire world stopped. And now, we are looking at a basketball season that may never get the closure that LeBron James and Laker fans would be missing if the season ended.
The 2019-2020 Los Angeles Lakers are one of four massive “what-ifs” for the franchise since the turn of the century.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been very successful since the turn of the millennium, winning five NBA Championships, the most of any team in the 20 seasons. However, the Lakers potentially had a championship season taken away, and along with these other what-ifs, the Lakers might have had multiple championships taken away from them this century.
There is still hope that the NBA can resume at some point in the near future. If it doesn’t, the 2019-2020 Lakers will go down with these three “what-ifs” since 2000.