353 days after their 2019-2020 season began, the Los Angeles Lakers are once again NBA champions! They played stifling defense in a Game 6 where they bested the Miami Heat, 106-93, at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida tonight. LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Dwight Howard and Co. accomplished this task 20 years after Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant won their first championship with the Lakers, and 10 years after Kobe earned his fifth and final NBA title in L.A. Some factoids if you're a fan of the Lake Show:
- The Lakers have won their 17th championship in franchise history, tying the Boston Celtics.
- LeBron James won his fourth Finals MVP trophy while earning his fourth NBA title on his third NBA team (after the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013, and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016).
- Rajon Rondo joins Clyde Lovellette as the only players to win championships with the Lakers and the Celtics. This is Rondo's second title (his first was with the Celtics after they defeated the Lake Show in the 2008 NBA Finals).
- Danny Green won his third championship on his third NBA team (he won a title with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014 and his second title with the Toronto Raptors last year, respectively).
- Kostas Antetokounmpo, the brother of Giannis Antetokounmpo (who plays with the Milwaukee Bucks and won the MVP award for the NBA regular season this year), won a title before Giannis did!
- Dwight Howard won his first championship in Orlando—with the very team that defeated him when he was a player on the Orlando Magic (in the 2009 NBA Finals).
- Alex Caruso's story goes from him beginning his three-year career in the NBA's G League to him starting Game 6 of the 2020 NBA Finals with LeBron James and Anthony Davis... Very impressive.
- Head coach Frank Vogel is now in the same category as Paul Westhead, Pat Riley and Phil Jackson!
And last, but most definitely not least:
- Jeanie Buss is the very first female controlling owner of an NBA team to win a championship. Congrats Jeanie! Your late father Jerry would be proud.
And of course, let's not forget the fact that the Lakers completed their mission of honoring Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and the seven other individuals who perished in the helicopter crash on January 26 with this victory. What a way to cap an NBA season like no other... Much kudos to league commissioner Adam Silver for pulling off the NBA Bubble! Carry on.
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