The Los Angeles Lakers (52-19) defeated the Miami Heat (44-29) in six games in the 2020 NBA Finals in Orlando, Florida. The Lakers won game six by a score of 106-93 on Oct. 11.
The Lakers had a chance to end the series in five games, but fell short by three points. Game six tipped off on Oct. 11, and the Lakers were not going to let this one slip.
The series was a closely fought battle, nearly pushed to game seven. However, game six was all too easy for the Lakers, encapsulated by a 23-point victory at the buzzer.
Los Angeles’ Lebron James won his fourth Finals MVP after an amazing performance against the Heat. Prior to game six, he averaged 30.2 points per game, 11.4 rebounds per game, and 8.2 assists per game. Lebron is now the only player to have Finals MVPs with three different teams.
With this Finals win, Lebron earns his first title in a Lakers uniform since signing with the team in 2018. This was his fourth championship since being drafted to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003.
Frank Vogel coached the Lakers in his first season with the franchise. Vogel has been a head coach in the league since 2010 and has earned the first championship of his career.
This was the Laker’s 17th NBA championship, the team’s first since 2010. They are now tied with the Boston Celtics for the most championships won by an NBA franchise.
This championship victory comes nearly nine months after the tragic death of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. In honor of Bryant, the Lakers wore their “Black Mamba” jerseys five times during the postseason, losing only one of those games.
“We did not let him down,” Anthony Davis said in regard to Bryant. “Ever since the tragedy, we wanted to do this for him. It made us even more aggressive, even more powerful on both ends of the floor to make sure we would close it out tonight.”
Davis nearly won his first Finals MVP after an amazing performance against the Heat. Prior to game six, he averaged 26.2 points per game, 8.2 rebounds per game, and 3.2 assists per game.
This year’s postseason was held inside of the NBA Bubble in Orlando, Florida. Now that the confetti has rained down on the Lakers, fans can only hope that the 2020-2021 season will be back to normal. The season is projected to begin in late December.
