Daryl Morey Says the 2020 Title for the Lakers is "Forever Marked" By an Asterisk

The Athletic put together an oral history of the Bubble, five years later. Of course, that weird, (hopefully) never-to-be-repeated NBA season resulted in LA's most recent title, with the Lakers beating the Heat to earn a banner. No question, the whole thing was weird, and unlike any other title in the history of the game. But in that oral history, Sixers GM Daryl Morey (then with the Rockets, who were eliminated by the Lakers) revealed that many around the league put an asterisk on LA's victory: "Had the Rockets won the title, I absolutely would have celebrated it as legitimate, knowing the immense effort and resilience required. Yet, everyone I speak to around the league privately agrees that it doesn’t truly hold up as a genuine championship. Perhaps the lasting legacy of the NBA bubble is that the NBA should be proud of its leadership at both the beginning and end of the pandemic, even though the champion will forever be marked by an asterisk." So... really? To be clear, not everyone in this story agreed. Many who were there covering the event believe it was harder to win that tournament than any other. But no question, Morey's sentiment is a common one. That it was the Lakers who walked away with a title only enhances that belief, I'm sure. (Somehow, it seems likely there'd be fewer asterisks had, say, Denver won a ring.) Meanwhile, ESPN has its first power rankings of the post-free agency era, and have the Lakers seventh in the West. Is that about right? And finally, ESPN's Dave McMenamin has a great story about Bronny James, which includes not only insight into Bronny's development, but how the Lakers approach this question more broadly. HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: Daryl Morey says asterisk! SEGMENT 2: Why those people are wrong. SEGMENT 3: 7th in the West? Fair or not? Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! 5-Hour ENERGY Time to fuel up and turn it up with 5-hour ENERGY®️ Transfusion! Go to https://5hourenergy.com today and use my promo code LOCKEDONGOLF to receive 20% off your order. This offer is only valid until September 30th on one order and cannot be used with other promotions. The code is not good on subscription orders. Monarch Money Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnba for 50% off your first year Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. FanDuel Right now, new customers can get ONE HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER : 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.