Tilman Fertitta isn’t buying any asterisk talk for 2020 NBA champ

In a new interview, the Rockets owner also said he “will never rest” until he brings Houston its next NBA championship.

The 2020 NBA playoffs will be an unprecedented affair, with games taking place shortly after a late-season hiatus of more than four months.

This year’s NBA postseason will also take place at a neutral site in Orlando and without fans, as part of extensive safety protocols aimed at limiting exposure to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

But all teams will be subject to the same constraints going in, and the playoffs will also be held according to their usual format — with the standard Western and Eastern Conference brackets, and the ultimate winner having to win four best-of-seven playoff series.

As Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta sees it, that makes this year’s champion legitimate, even if the circumstances are unusual and even if it isn’t his team. He explains to Fox 26 Houston’s Mark Berman:

Whoever wins this championship, there is no asterisk. I don’t care if it’s us, or Milwaukee, or one of the LA teams. Why would it be an asterisk? You have to win four series, four out of seven, to win this championship.

Fertitta also stated confidence in his team’s ability to make a deep run in Orlando, led by veterans James Harden, Russell Westbrook, P.J. Tucker, and Eric Gordon. The Rockets owner, who said he was happy with the NBA’s approved restart plan to resume the season on July 31, added that he “will never rest” until he brings Houston another NBA title.

Fertitta and 29 of the NBA’s 30 team owners voted Thursday to formally approve the season’s resumption. A similar ratification from team player representatives with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) is scheduled for this Friday, June 5.

The complete in-person interview with Fertitta can be seen in a series of video clips on Berman’s Twitter timeline.

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