Portland Trail Blazers Guard Damian Lillard Respects The Miami Heat's Run In The NBA Bubble

After waiting four months for the NBA Bubble to open, players were completely fresh and ready to compete

When the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in the 2020 NBA Finals, many pundits criticized it. 

Some even said it shouldn’t have counted, considering it happened in the Bubble.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard disagrees with the notion. On a recent episode of T-Rell, Heather Sanders and Smac’s podcast Back On Figg podcast, Lillard said the 2020 championship might have been the hardest one.

“I don’t understand what people mean when they talk about it ain’t credited,” Lillard said. “I feel like it would’ve been hard to win that because people were fresh. Now, you got people talking about the mental health and ‘We stuck on the resort’. I ain’t deal with none of that. But I feel like, based off of how my body feel and what I knew our experience was, we would never see a more fresh version of the opposition than we did at that time.”

"I think it counts to me. Why don't it count? Nobody else won it. Everybody else had the same opportunity to win it."

Damian Lillard's message to people who downplay the Lakers' 2020 NBA championship in the bubble 🗣

(via @backonfigg / YT)pic.twitter.com/S6dimgRRql

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 19, 2023

Although his argument is valid, some might question whether his opinion comes from emotions. He was named Bubble MVP after averaging 37 points and nine assists in the seeding games. 

Right now, the Trail Blazers and the Heat are having conversations regarding where Lillard could play this season. Because Lillard made it clear he wants to play in Miami, this could be his way of keeping the trade talks going.

Regardless, the 2020 championship deserves its credit simply because of the extended waiting period for the Bubble to be established, thus giving players a chance to rest.

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Cory Nelson is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson. You can also check out his personal blog HERE.