Category: NBA Finals

LeBron James gives shout out to ‘phenomenal’ Caldwell-Pope

LeBron James showed the Los Angeles Lakers where he stands when it comes to his teammate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who will be a free agent.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is still feeling the excitement of winning his fourth NBA championship while also helping the Lakers tie the Boston Celtics for the most championships in NBA history with 17. Of course, now that the season is over, the business of basketball will take center stage even though we are less than three weeks from the Lakers raising the Larry O’Brien trophy. The Lakers have several players who are expected to become free agents and while Anthony Davis is assuredly coming back, others may not be so certain.

Among the free agents, the Lakers will have, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, perhaps their 3rd most important player in the playoffs. The NBA posted highlights of his play on Wednesday and then LeBron James shared it, with a hilariously forced wordplay on his initials.

If the playoffs didn’t drive it home, LeBron’s tweet should. He wants the Lakers to bring Caldwell-Pope back, whatever it takes.

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Lakers, LeBron James take championship celebration to Las Vegas

According to the Las Vegas Journal-Review, the Lakers squad has rolled into Las Vegas to celebrate their NBA Championship.

Sometimes after a long journey, it’s good to go back to where everything started. For the 2020 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers, their journey towards the franchise’s 17th NBA Larry O’Brien trophy, everything started in Las Vegas when the team had a player’s only mini-camp where they worked out together and also spend time together off the court, going to things as a group, such as a WNBA playoff game.

Considering the state of the pandemic there aren’t many places to go, but the Lakers have gone back to Las Vegas to celebrate their championship as a crew, according to the Las Vegas Journal-Review.

According to the Journal-Review, the Lakers requested a private space at the Wynn Casino, which likely cost them north of $100k, to celebrate the championship together now that they are finally outside of the bubble. Documented cases of the COVID-19 have been rising over the last month in Las Vegas, but it does sound like the Lakers are taking some precautions. There will not be a championship parade in the foreseeable future due to the pandemic.

LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Kyle Kuzma are reportedly those among the crew, with presumably the entire team along to celebrate the title.

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Magic Johnson says LeBron James promised a title when signing with Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson brought LeBron James to the franchise back in the summer of 2018.

Los Angeles Lakers legend and former team president Magic Johnson’s decision to step down at the end of the 2018-19 season is undoubtedly one of the hallmark moments of the team’s journey to the 2020 NBA Championship. But before Johnson decided to step down, he was the man in charge of the Lakers when LeBron James decided to come to the franchise in the summer of 2018. While many will look at the move by James to join the Lakers as a foregone conclusion, Johnson’s presence as one of the five best players of All-Time and an incredibly successful entrepreneur was also incredibly important extra pieces to help close the deal with LeBron.

After the Lakers won the championship, Johnson spoke with great pride that bringing LeBron James into the franchise was the central part of their success in an interview with Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times, while also saying LeBron promised to bring a title to the Lakers when he signed.

“But also, LeBron James. What LeBron James said he was going to do when we were in his living room — myself, him and his agent Rich Paul — he said, ‘Earvin, I’m going to bring the Lakers back. I’m going to take us to the championship.’ Everything that he said he was going to do, he’s done just that. It was just great to know he was the centerpiece to bring us back.”

Although Johnson left the Lakers in an official capacity, he’s a Laker for life. And with a championship, LeBron James is too.

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Anthony Davis played with undisclosed ankle injury in NBA Finals

Anthony Davis told ESPN that he was hurting after the Lakers closed out the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

Not only did Anthony Davis have a historic playoff run in the process of winning his first NBA Championship, but he also did so while playing through several injuries. But it wasn’t just the knee to the calf he caught in Game 5 or the heel contusion he was listed as dealing with going into the clinching Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat.

As a detail in the post-mortem of the final game of the longest season in NBA history, Davis told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin and Malika Andrews that he was also playing with an undisclosed ankle injury. Davis was “hurting.”

“Man, I’m hurting,” said Davis, who was listed on the injury report with a right heel contusion but told ESPN he was also dealing with an undisclosed ankle injury that had required six hours of treatment on Sunday afternoon.

“My mindset is, ‘It’s the Finals. I got to do whatever I can to compete,'” he said. “There’s no way in hell I wasn’t playing in this game.”

Davis and the rest of the Lakers are finally back home. No longer playing on a bad ankle, Davis was able to enjoy some tacos back in L.A.

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Tom Brady makes 4th down joke shouting out LeBron for 4th ring

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady knows what it’s like to win four rings and gave a shout out to LeBron James on Monday.

“That’s a feeling only me and LeBron know” is something Tom Brady easily could have thrown out when congratulating LeBron James on winning his 4th NBA Championship. But with Brady coming off a slight moment of embarrassment in forgetting what down his Tampa Bay Buccaneers were on in a Thursday Night Football loss last week, he used the moment to create a hilarious tribute to LeBron for earning his 4th championship ring. Brady, of course, has six Super Bowl Championship Rings, all coming with the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick before he left the Pats to join Bruce Arians and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

James then responded to Brady’s joke and gave him a shoutout on his Instagram story, which is hitting record volume today, because of course.

The Lakers dominated throughout the playoffs and their run through the playoffs is something most fans should be able to appreciate. Brady is obviously one of those, showing support for James, who continues to set himself apart in the league’s history and the history of sports.

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LeBron James writes message to ‘special’ Anthony Davis after title

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James wrote a letter of appreciation to Anthony Davis after winning the NBA Championship.

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are still basking in the afterglow of winning the championship. Nearly two years ago, LeBron James started his journey with the Lakers on opening night 2018 and now he has won his fourth championship, with his third different franchise. And the biggest difference, aside from his health from 2018 to 2020, was Anthony Davis.

Davis’ trade request in the middle of the 2018-19 season was inextricably linked to the Lakers over the last two years before he eventually landed with the Lakers in a blockbuster deal in 2019. James knew how important Davis was to the team and included him as a co-leader all season long. Davis helped influence LeBron to play better defense than he has since he left the Miami Heat and James wrote a letter of appreciation to him on Monday afternoon.

LeBron and Davis had Lakers fans remembering the days of Shaq and Kobe, with phenomenal two-man dominance that ranks among the greatest in NBA history.

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LeBron James shares post-championship FaceTime with Mother

LeBron James left the Lakers locker room and got on FaceTime with his mother Gloria, thanking him for bringing him into the world.

LeBron James is a champion once again and he helped the Los Angeles Lakers earn the 17th championship in a tumultuous season. The Lakers started to party hard in the locker room after the game, rightfully celebrating the culmination of a three month journey inside the Wide World of Sports at Disney World. While the Lakers were going wild in the locker room and players like J.R. Smith and Dwight Howard were on Instagram live, LeBron stepped out for a moment to FaceTime with his mother.

Reporters captured LeBron on the phone with his mom, Gloria James, as he puffed on a celebratory championship cigar.

LeBron then thanked his mother for raising him and saying how much he thanks for everything she went through in doing that.

LeBron’s last championship came over four years ago and one of the famous anecdotes from that was he found himself a quiet table for a postgame meal while the team partied at a Las Vegas club. With the Lakers scheduled to go back home, LeBron is likely looking forward to a quiet meal and a nice bottle of wine for one last time in the bubble.

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Lakers dominate Miami Heat to win Game 6, LeBron earns 4th title

The Los Angeles Lakers won their 17th NBA Championship on Sunday night as the Lakers beat the Miami Heat in 6 games.

The longest and most unprecedented NBA season in the 74-year history of the league is finally over and it wasn’t too long before Sunday night’s Game 6 of the NBA Finals turned from a competition into a coronation. The Los Angeles Lakers are NBA Champions and they led by double digits for the majority of the game, turning their 8-point lead after the first quarter into a 28-point halftime lead as they suffocated the Miami Heat’s offensive attack in a 106-93 win.

LeBron James is now a 4-time NBA Champion and he has helped resurrect a once dormant NBA powerhouse, helping the Los Angeles Lakers win their 17th NBA Championship, tying the Boston Celtics for the most championships in NBA history. James capped off his 10th NBA Finals with a triple-double of 28 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists.

The Lakers made a change to put Alex Caruso in the starting lineup in place of Dwight Howard, with Anthony Davis playing excellent at center for the majority of the game. Rajon Rondo was also incredible in the closeout game, scoring 11 points in the first quarter and finishing with 19 points, four rebounds, and four assists. LeBron was emotional on the sidelines after being taken out of the game.

The Heat, on the other hand, had few major contributions on offense as it looked like the magic that was with them in Games 3 and 5 had finally run out. Butler was unable to muster another historic performance and while Goran Dragic’s return was a morale boost, he didn’t exactly set the nets on fire.

It’s unclear when the next NBA season will start but that doesn’t matter much to LeBron and the Lakers. After a season that started with an international controversy in China, but continued with obstacles such as the loss of a franchise legend, a global pandemic, and playing in sequestered biodome at Disney World, LeBron James and the Lakers are champions once again. Anybody who tries to erase the accomplishments of this anomalous but difficult season simply didn’t see it happen.

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Miami’s Goran Dragic will be active for Game 6 of Finals vs. Lakers

Miami’s Goran Dragic has decided he is able to play in Game 6 of the NBA Finals with a torn plantar fascia in his left foot.

As of the injury reports issued on the morning of Game 6, Goran Dragic was considered doubtful to play again in the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers but the veteran guard has found a way to make it work and his return in this best-of-seven series. Dragic is active for Game 6 of the NBA Finals, despite dealing with a torn plantar fascia in his left foot, which he suffered in Game 1 of the series. Dragic attempted to play in Game 4 of the Finals but decided he was unable to. However, the extra week has apparently allowed him to find a way to the court.

Among the Heat’s players, Dragic is the second-leading scorer throughout the playoffs, averaging 19.9 points per game in 16 games of playoff action. The Heat have gone to a more guard-heavy lineup even without him, but Dragic might be even more needed as the Lakers are also responding by going small and starting Alex Caruso in place of Dwight Howard.

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Lakers will make lineup change, swapping Alex Caruso for Dwight Howard

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reports from the NBA Bubble that the Lakers will go with more guards in the starting lineup.

The Miami Heat made the decision in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to play Bam Adebayo as their only big man and then fill the rest of their rotation with perimeter players. It appears that the Los Angeles Lakers have followed suit.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported on Sunday afternoon that Frank Vogel will make a change to the starting lineup, swapping guard Alex Caruso for center Dwight Howard, pushing Anthony Davis to the center position. The decision to go smaller is interesting, considering the Lakers have had an advantage on the boards over the first five games of the series. The Heat, however, have done a better job of minimizing that advantage over the past three games.

However, while Caruso might not be as disruptive a force at the rim or on the glass, he is a better perimeter defender and he’s a great weapon in transition for LeBron James with his versatility to cut, shoot or make a play for someone else.

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