The NBA Bubble

On March 11, 2020 the NBA shut down due to Rudy Gobert testing positive for Covid-19. This is the first time the league has ever shut down because of a disease. It was shut down for 5 months and restarted on July 7th in Walt Disney World where they setup rooms, gyms, basketball courts, restaurants, barber shops, and anything the players needed. This was The Bubble. 22 teams were invited and they were to play their games here. The players had to choose if they wanted to stay at The Bubble or if they wanted to stay at home and not play basketball. There were a lot of precautions in place so no one spread the disease. Everyone who wasn’t a player had to wear a mask and all of the bench seats were socially distanced and there were no fans in the stands. There were precautions after the games as well. All of the food had to be delivered to the players and if the players left their rooms they had to wear a mask.

Many players were vlogging their experiences such as Javale McGee, Matisse Thybulle, and Jimmy Butler. There were a lot of videos circulating with all of the players having fun with the other teams. They were fishing and swimming in the pools together. They had to stay here for at least 6 weeks or for the two championship contenders it would be 3 months. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said this earlier to reporters in July from Milwaukee, “Just going in there for like a month or a month and a half before you see your family, that’s gonna be tough.”

The first game was setup for July 30th it was the L.A. Lakers vs L.A. Clippers the 2 powerhouses of the league. The Lakers would win 103-101 with Anthony Davis the second-best power forward notching 34 points and 8 rebounds and LeBron getting a 16 point double double. Kawhi Leonard scoring 28 and Paul George getting 30 put up a valiant effort. The NBA would have games every day and some players started to stand out in these bubble games. One of the players that stood out was Devin Booker, guard for the Phoenix Suns. Both, him and his team were doing phenomenal during the bubble games. The Phoenix Suns had a perfect 8-0 record with Devin Booker averaging over 30 points per game in The Bubble but they still couldn’t make the playoffs because another star Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers barely beat them out to make the playoffs. He averaged 33 points and 8 assists in his 13 bubble games. T.J. Warren was another player to play magnificently during the bubble. He is the small forward for the Indiana Pacers. He had a season high of 53 points in a win against the 76ers. One of the greatest performances was from Tyler Herro a rookie out of Kentucky University and his All-Star teammate Jimmy Butler. They combined for 37 points per game and they made it all the way to the championship.

The Playoffs started August 17th right after the Trail Blazers beat the Memphis Grizzlies for the last playoff spot. The Lakers beat the Trail Blazers in 5. The Clippers beat the Mavericks in 6. The Nuggets narrowly beat the Jazz in 7. The Bucks beat the Magic in 5. The Heat sweep the Pacers. And finally, the Raptors sweep the Nets. In the next round the Nuggets squeak by again with a 7-game series and the Miami Heat beat the #1 east seeded Bucks with the reigning MVP Giannis. In the conference championship the Heat beat the Celtics in 6 and the Nuggets finally lose to the Lakers. In the finals the Heat would play the #1 west seeded Lakers. The Heat would put up a great fight in a very entertaining series but the Lakers duo of LeBron and A.D. would become too much for Herro and Butler to put down and the Los Angeles Lakers would become The Bubble Champs.