The Los Angeles Lakers are fresh off winning their 17th NBA Championship, tying the Boston Celtics for the most in basketball history. However, there are some people who don’t think that ring is valid.
The shortened season, the long rest and the fact that there weren’t fans in attendance have put an asterisk next to this NBA Championship. However, most people believe that’s just an argument to demeanor LeBron James’ accomplishments.
That’s why Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel was quick to shut down that narrative, lauding his players for all the effort and sacrifices they made to finally get over the hump and win a ring again.
Frank Vogel Silences Critics After Winning NBA Championship
“To endure that type of intense pressure environment, where every detail is scrutinized, where the intensity was high, to endure those meetings with no outlet of family, or whatever single guys would be doing, without an outlet, was one of the biggest challenges. It was a credit to all the participants to lean on and to support each other,” Coach Vogel said in an interview with the Orange County Register.
It’s hard to say think of this year’s NBA Championship as any other. Then again, it’s not fair to say that it should be less valid than any other, considering all 22 teams in the bubble had to endure the same challenges and it’s not like the Lakers had an unfair advantage.
Now, however, they must step up and silence their critics by defending their crown next season. That way, they’ll prove that this year’s title run wasn’t just a fluke and that they could have beaten anybody under normal circumstances, and that includes coach Vogel, who was doubted and called out by a lot of people even before the start of the season.