On Sunday, October 11, the Los Angeles Lakers outscored the Miami Heat by 20 points, securing the record-tying 17th NBA championship.

     According to the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Lakers made a bet at the beginning of the “longest, rockiest season” in NBA history that any team with LeBron James and Anthony Davis could win a championship.

    On March 11, Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz tested positive for Covid-19, causing the NBA to postpone that night’s game, CNN reported. This led to a suspension of league play. Other sports were affected by Covid-19 as well.

     In June, around the time when the NBA Finals would typically be taking place, the league made a statement that the season would resume at the end of July at the Walt Disney World Resort. CNN explained that they would use ”an isolated campus to hold games, practices, and residency for 22 of the league’s 30 teams to determine who would reach the playoffs.”

     Out of 200 students polled, 56% predicted the Lakers would win. The other 44% were doubtful.

     Junior Abbey Huneke spends time watching NBA games with her family. She says, “I thought the heat would win because of their players such as Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro.” Those two are a great duo, explains Huneke. 

     Sophomore Gavin Moxley is also very interested in basketball. He thought the heat would win because “they’re a great team they pulled through as the underdog, beating some of the best teams in the league.” According to Moxley, everyone thought the Heat would lose during round one or round two. “It looked like with the record they had that they would beat the lakers just from how well they were doing in the bubble playoffs,” he explains. 

     After the game finished, Lebron James was named Finals MVP for the fourth time unanimously. “Only Michael Jordan has more with six,” states the Washington Post. He became the first player in NBA history to win the award with three different teams. 

     Anthony Davis, Lakers power forward, added 19 points and 15 rebounds. This is his first time as a champion. Davis “owned the interior on both ends”, the reason the Lakers outscored the Heat by a 34-16 first-half margin. The victory was dedicated to the late Kobe Bryant who was killed in a helicopter crash this past January. Bryant’s daughter Gigi also lost her life in the tragic accident.

    “We didn’t let him down,” said Davis in an interview with Yahoo Sports. “Ever since the tragedy, all we wanted to do is do it for him.” It means a lot to us. It’s a tough moment. He was a big brother to all of us, and we did this for him.”