Few things are easier for the modern sports fan than bending history to their whims. Like most facets of life, the internet has altered they way information is disseminated, processed and recycled. No longer does one need to work in ESPN’s stats & info department to obtain the figures required to push the agenda of the day. Regardless of how inaccurate, artificial, inherently bias or flat out stupid the argument, one doesn’t need to search long to find a twisted or obscure statistic to bolster the claim. Tack on a picture with a funny caption and people will rather easily accept the erroneous as fact. The practice is so ubiquitous, the word “FACTS” has lost all meaning.
Sidebar: Seriously, how many times have you seen someone slap a “BIG FACTS” under a wildly incorrect assertion on social media? And not just from the “I disagree with this opinion, therefore I don’t see it as a fact” standpoint. But as in–no, this is LITERALLY by definition NOT a fact, yet people support it anyway.
Perhaps there was a moment in time when reason ruled the sports debate landscape, but the paradigm shifted along with the venue of discourse, which brings us to the restart of the 2019-20 NBA season. When we last left, the Bucks were steamrolling everyone, the Lakers had just staked their claim as the title favorites, the Raptors and Thunder were shocking the world, the Sixers couldn’t lose at home, the Clippers were good yet still on autopilot until the playoffs, the Rockets had given up on height altogether, Zion was still encased in bubble wrap, and Rudy Golbert had not yet become the poster-child for a global pandemic. With the league revving back up, so too are the debates, specifically with respect to the worthiness of an NBA champion under this unique “bubble” format.
The public, eager to insulate their pro/anti bubble ring argument, is already split on what this title will mean from a historical perspective. Even players are chiming in, with Austin Rivers declaring the Orlando setup makes the championship hill an even steeper climb.
There’s a legitimate case to be made either way. The problem is fans and talking heads will inevitably frame the bubble champion to fit whatever angle they’re peddling. If they like a given player or team, this becomes winning the New York City Marathon with no legs. If they detest said player or team, it instantly becomes winning a 2K championship on Rookie mode.
It’s fine to carry certain beliefs about a player, and if we’re being honest, the last thing anyone wants to do on social media is admit they’re wrong and renege on what was once a firm opinion. In truth, we’re already aware of everything that impacts the title chase inside the NBA bubble. The good (no travel, fewer traditional distractions, no home court advantage for lower-seeded teams, compact schedule for younger teams, players returning from injury, greater opportunities for camaraderie), the bad (threat of a player or teammate contracting Coronavirus, injury risk, out-of-shape players, loss of rhythm from mid-March, inability to unwind or escape the game, no home court advantage for higher-seeded teams, limited food options, compact schedule for older teams, family concerns) and the indifferent (ongoing conversations around racism and social justice) will likely impact all bubble teams in some capacity.
With the playing field generally leveled, why do we feel the need to positively or negatively qualify a bubble championship?
Sports has no precedent for this. Many people choose to place an asterisk on the 1999 Spurs, while few place one on the 2012 Heat. Both teams won championships during seasons shortened by labor stoppages, but neither situation was remotely close to what we’re currently witnessing. We all have a deep understanding of these extraordinary circumstances because we’re all experiencing it ourselves. Our homes, our jobs and the minutiae of everyday life have been flipped upside down. And for many Americans, there are both advantages and disadvantages to this post-COVID-19 lifestyle.
Ascribing praise to the best player on the winning team should be taken out of the hands of those of us on social media because we’ve proven incapable of having honest conversations about greatness in sports (or any subject for that matter, after having witnessed a childish argument break out in the comment section of Yahoo! Finance last week). Instead, why not simply classify this championship as it’s own separate accomplishment? For example, if the Clippers win it all, Kawhi Leonard’s résumé would look like this:
- 3X All-NBA Defensive First Team
- 2X All-NBA First Team
- 4X All-Star
- 1X All-Star Game MVP
- 2X NBA Finals MVP
- 2X NBA Champion
- 1X NBA Bubble Champion
A separate line item for the bubble is the only just way to adjudicate this championship. Who’s to even say if winning it all this year is easier or harder than a normal year besides a key contributor to the bubble title team that was also a key contributor to a previous NBA champion? And of the realistic contenders, how long is that list?
- Bucks: Nobody
- Lakers: LeBron James, Danny Green, Rajon Rondo (injured)
- Clippers: Kawhi Leonard
- Raptors: Pascal Siakam, Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Fred VanVleet
- Celtics: Nobody
- Rockets: Nobody
- Nuggets: Nobody
- Heat: Andre Iguodala
- Thunder: Nobody
Everyone is aware of the benefits and challenges involved–there’s no need to argue incessantly over whether or not this counts as a “real NBA championship”. Except…people like to argue. It’s far more likely the masses will never adopt this premise and would rather cut & paste “That fuckin ring don’t count!” 10,000 times over. But consider this approach as we crown our 2019-20 NBA Champion. You’d be surprised by how much you can get done when you opt not to argue with people whose minds you could never change in the first place.