1. LeBron James’ motivation may last into next season
Let’s face it, fellow Lakers fans — if the Purple and Gold win the world championship this season, some will allege that it should have an asterisk next to it.
It may not sound fair, but the fact that there are no fans at the games will give those cynics ammunition.
Ironically, it could actually play to the advantage of James and his teammates.
Like most historically great athletes, James is acutely sensitive about his standing among the other all-time greats of the NBA. Although many consider him to be one of the three to five greatest ever, his legacy still has some weak links.
For all his greatness, James is still 3-6 in the NBA Finals, which ranks poorly compared to the other transcendent NBA superstars through the decades.
Another argument is that James’ accomplishment of reaching the championship series eight straight years isn’t as great as it seems since he played in what was then a weak Eastern Conference.
If the Lakers win it all in a couple of months, James will no doubt get his props, especially since he’ll have to overcome two very good or great teams in the West just to reach the Finals. But some will also point out that the 2020 NBA title doesn’t count the same as others.
That could make James just mad and insecure enough that he’ll come out with a vengeance for the 2020-21 NBA season.
If the Lakers win the world title again next season, that would give James five rings, tying him with Bryant and Magic Johnson and leaving him just one short of Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It would also boost his Finals record to 5-6, which isn’t quite as bad as 3-6.
Let’s just hope that by the end of 2020, we’ll have an effective vaccine for the novel coronavirus so that fans can attend sporting events again without fear of getting seriously ill.