• last year
Will the eventual NBA Finals winner of 2020 have a tainted title?
Transcript
00:00LeBron James really wants to finish the NBA season, but if it is indeed finished, it would
00:05likely be modified, which has led some critics to say any championship wouldn't be legitimate.
00:11Well would it?
00:12For more, I'm joined by our Ben Pickman and the fantasy exec Corey Parson.
00:16Ben, let's start with you.
00:18Can the NBA crown a legitimate champion this season?
00:21Yeah, I absolutely think that the NBA champion this year is a legitimate champion.
00:26Now yes, in discussions we'll have to make a note and at least talk about that this wasn't
00:29an unusual season, but I don't think we would look down at LeBron's resume if the Lakers
00:34did win it and say this year's title didn't count.
00:37And my main point of reasoning for that is because if you look at the 1998-99 season,
00:41which was a lockout shortened season that only had 50 games, we don't look at the Spurs
00:46title over the New York Knicks and say Tim Duncan, the finals MVP that year, you know
00:51he's won three finals MVP in his whole career, but really because of that one he's only won
00:55two.
00:56We don't look at his five titles and say, really there were only four titles in that
01:00Spurs dynasty.
01:01We don't look at Duncan any differently because he won that title with the Spurs in a lockout
01:05shortened season.
01:06Now of course he did have a great career and I don't think we'd look at LeBron any differently
01:10and said, yeah, because they won in this kind of weird post-season that his resume is diminished
01:16anyway.
01:17And I think the lockout is indicative as to why.
01:19To that point, Corey, you know, Knicks fans would certainly claim a title if they got
01:22it that season.
01:23No, they certainly wouldn't.
01:24If you remember the Knicks for the AFC coming into that season, they ended up making it
01:28all the way to the NBA finals after that great first round series versus the Miami Heat that
01:33year.
01:34So, but listen, a lot of people do not say that the Knicks were the first AFC to make
01:37it.
01:38So you do see that they say that because of what that season was showing.
01:40So I don't think that's fair.
01:42Now listen, if you're LeBron James, you don't want to lose any more seasons.
01:45You're getting up there in your career.
01:47I would say this title would not be taken.
01:49It is going to be a modified season, but you look at how the Lakers were playing going
01:52down the stretch.
01:53I think they had a pretty good shot to end up as champions this year.
01:55So it'd be interesting to see how it finishes out if it finishes out.
01:59Of course it wouldn't be tainted.
02:01This is all ridiculous, right?
02:02I mean, maybe some teams would have a little bit of a practice advantage, but the circumstances
02:06are the same for everybody.
02:07I really just think people like to complain.
02:10Let's not be miserable.
02:11If the NBA returns, let's celebrate whoever wins the championship case closed.