While winning a championship is the ultimate goal for all NBA players, successfully defending that crown in the next season is what forges legacies, and lays the foundation for a dynasty. LeBron James’ 2020 Lakers didn’t get an opportunity to do that. Led by LeBron and Anthony Davis, Los Angeles dominated the NBA bubble and secured a historic championship, beating the Miami Heat in the Finals.
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However, they dismantled the core of the championship-winning roster in the offseason by not extending Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard. JaVale McGee and Danny Green were traded too, offsetting the balance in the squad. AD had to move over to the 5, away from his natural position. Many suspect this led to his calf and heel injuries in 2021.
Davis was off for 30 games, and that disrupted the 2020-21 season for the Lakers, who eventually lost to the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs. Jeanie Buss recently expressed regret over not providing her team’s stars the resources to defend the title.
Looking back, Buss acknowledged that breaking up that team may not have been the right call. It was also vehemently against the philosophy of the legendary Phil Jackson, who has been an inspiration for the Lakers’ owner in basketball matters.
“I kind of came from the philosophy, kind of inspired by Phil Jackson, that when a team wins a championship, they should have the right to defend their championship. And we didn’t do that, and I regret that,” said Buss on Games With Names.
Jackson won 11 championships in his legendary coaching career from 1989 to 2011. Nine of them came from three-peats and two from winning back-to-back titles with the great Kobe Bryant’s Lakers.
The potential of the 2020 Lakers is now a big ‘what if’ question. Buss added that she also apologized to Markieff Morris, who had left in free agency after the 2020-21 season. He recently rejoined the Lakers in the blockbuster trade that brought Luka Doncic to L.A.
“I told him [Morris], I said, ‘I’m really sorry that we didn’t get a chance for you to defend that championship and I’m really glad you’re here’,” revealed Buss.
Even though they have Morris back in the organization, the second-most important player in the 2020 squad, AD, is no longer a Laker.
But with Doncic in the squad, the Lakers are in a great rhythm. They are currently the third-best team in the Western Conference with a 40-23 record. The Lakers have won eight of their last 10 games, and are 25-7 at home.
If they manage to bring the 18th championship, Buss might not repeat her mistake and will probably give the team a chance to defend the title too.
