People still argue about it. You’ve heard the "Mickey Mouse ring" jokes or the claims that it wasn't a real season. But honestly, if you look at the actual basketball played, the last Lakers NBA championship in 2020 might be the most grueling title in the history of the sport. It wasn't just about the points on the board. It was about surviving a psychological experiment that no other generation of athletes had to face.
The Los Angeles Lakers didn't just beat the Miami Heat in six games; they outlasted the isolation of a global pandemic and the heavy emotional weight of losing Kobe Bryant earlier that year.
It was weird.
No fans. Just the squeaking of sneakers on a court surrounded by digital screens in Orlando. LeBron James and Anthony Davis were essentially locked in a high-end summer camp for three months. Most players admit now that they wanted to quit. They wanted to go home. The Lakers stayed, and that’s why that trophy sits in the Staples Center—or Crypto.com Arena, if we're being technical—today.
The Tragedy That Fueled the Run
Before we even get to the Disney World "Bubble," we have to talk about January 26, 2020. The world stopped. Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas.
For the Lakers, this wasn't just a celebrity passing. This was the franchise's DNA.
I remember the first game back against the Portland Trail Blazers. The atmosphere was thick. LeBron James gave a speech that wasn't scripted—you could tell because he dropped the paper and just spoke from the heart. He promised to continue Kobe's legacy. From that moment on, the season shifted from a pursuit of a ring to a mandatory mission. "Leave a Legacy" became the unofficial mantra.
When the season suspended in March due to COVID-19, the Lakers were the top seed in the West. They had just beaten the Bucks and the Clippers in the same weekend. They were rolling. Then, everything went dark for months.
Living in the Orlando Bubble
Imagine being a multi-millionaire athlete used to private jets and five-star cities, and suddenly you’re told you have to live at the Grand Floridian Resort for 90-plus days without your family.
It sounds like a first-world problem until you realize these guys are creatures of habit.
📖 Related: Heisman Trophy Nominees 2024: The Year the System Almost Broke
The "Bubble" was a mental meat grinder. Damian Lillard has talked about it. Paul George has been open about the depression he felt there. The Lakers, led by LeBron, decided early on that they weren't going to complain. They treated it like a business trip.
Frank Vogel, the head coach at the time, leaned heavily into a "smash-mouth" identity. While the rest of the league was trying to play small and shoot threes, the Lakers stayed huge. They played Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee. They bullied teams.
Anthony Davis was a god in that postseason. People forget he shot nearly 50% from mid-range and over 38% from deep during that run. He was essentially a 7-foot Kevin Durant for two months. In Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets, Davis hit a walk-off three at the buzzer and yelled "Kobe!" as his teammates mobbed him. That was the moment everyone knew they were winning it all.
Breaking Down the Path to the Finals
The Lakers' road wasn't easy, even if the series scores look lopsided in hindsight.
- Portland Trail Blazers (First Round): Everyone picked Portland to pull the upset because Damian Lillard was on fire. The Lakers lost Game 1. The panic was real. Then, L.A. rattled off four straight wins.
- Houston Rockets (Second Round): The "Micro-Ball" Rockets. They didn't play anyone over 6'7". It was a chess match. Vogel eventually benched his centers and played Markieff Morris at the five. It worked.
- Denver Nuggets (Conference Finals): This Denver team had just come back from 3-1 deficits twice. They were the cardiac kids. But they had no answer for Dwight Howard getting into Nikola Jokic’s head.
The Miami Heat and the Final Hurdle
By the time the Lakers reached the Finals, they were exhausted. Everyone was. The Miami Heat, led by Jimmy Butler, were the ultimate "culture" team.
Game 5 of that series was a classic. Butler and LeBron went toe-to-toe in one of the most physically demanding games I’ve ever seen. Butler was literally leaning over a camera transition table, gasping for air, having played 47 minutes.
The Lakers lost that game. They wore the "Black Mamba" jerseys and wanted to clinch it right there. When they didn't, the critics came out. They said the Lakers were choking.
Game 6 was a different story.
It was a bloodbath. By halftime, the Lakers were up by nearly 30 points. It was the most dominant close-out performance in recent NBA history. Rajon Rondo looked like it was 2008 again, slicing through the defense. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was hitting everything. Alex Caruso, the cult hero, was starting and wreaking havoc on defense.
👉 See also: When Was the MLS Founded? The Chaotic Truth About American Soccer's Rebirth
When the final buzzer sounded, the celebration was... quiet. No parade through Figueroa Street. No millions of fans screaming. Just a team in a gym in the middle of a Florida forest, holding a trophy and thinking about a legend who wasn't there to see it.
Why the 2020 Ring Deserves More Respect
The "asterisk" crowd likes to say there was no travel, so it was easier.
That's nonsense.
Travel is a part of the NBA, sure, but so is the comfort of your own bed. These players were isolated from their kids, their wives, and their social lives. There were no distractions. It was pure basketball. If anything, the lack of "home court advantage" meant you had to be the better team on the floor every single night. You couldn't rely on a roaring crowd to bail you out when you were down ten in the third quarter.
Also, look at the roster construction. This was a "win-now" team built on the fly.
Rob Pelinka took a lot of heat for trading away the young core—Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart—to get Anthony Davis. But banners hang forever. Ingram has become a great player, but Davis gave the Lakers a defensive ceiling that was virtually impenetrable.
Statistics That Define the Last Lakers NBA Championship
To understand how dominant this run was, you have to look at the defensive metrics.
The Lakers held opponents to a league-low field goal percentage in the restricted area during the playoffs. They were a rim-protection factory.
LeBron James averaged 27.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 8.8 assists in the Finals. At age 35. That is absurd. He became the first player to win Finals MVP with three different franchises (Heat, Cavs, Lakers).
✨ Don't miss: Navy Notre Dame Football: Why This Rivalry Still Hits Different
Danny Green and KCP provided the "3-and-D" spacing that allowed the stars to operate. Even if Green struggled with his shot at times, his gravity mattered. And we can't forget Kyle Kuzma's role as the spark plug off the bench, even if his scoring was erratic.
What Happened After?
Since that night in October 2020, the Lakers have struggled to find that same magic.
The 2021 season started too fast—the shortest off-season in pro sports history. Injuries decimated LeBron and AD. Then came the Russell Westbrook trade, which most fans (and analysts) now view as a massive misstep that gutted the team's depth.
The 2020 championship was the peak of the "LeBron-AD" era. It proved that when those two are healthy and surrounded by high-IQ veterans, they are almost impossible to beat in a seven-game series.
Practical Takeaways for Lakers Fans
If you're looking back at the last Lakers NBA championship and wondering if they can do it again, here’s the reality check.
1. Health is the only thing that matters.
The 2020 run happened because AD and LeBron had four months off during the hiatus to heal their bodies. In the years since, they haven't had that luxury. For the Lakers to compete in 2025 or 2026, the "load management" of Anthony Davis remains the single most important factor for the front office.
2. Depth over "Big Threes."
The 2020 team succeeded because of guys like Alex Caruso, Dwight Howard, and Rajon Rondo. These weren't "stars" in the traditional sense at that stage of their careers, but they were elite in their specific roles. The current Lakers roster needs to prioritize high-level role players over chasing a third aging superstar.
3. Defensive identity is non-negotiable.
Under Frank Vogel, the Lakers were a top-three defense. They haven't consistently reached that level since he was let go. Championship DNA in Los Angeles has always been built on transition points generated from stops.
The 2020 ring wasn't a fluke. It was a masterclass in mental toughness. While the world was falling apart, the Lakers found a way to stay together. Whether you love them or hate them, you have to respect the grind it took to win in the Bubble.
If you want to dive deeper into the stats of that season, check out the official NBA Advanced Stats portal or the Basketball-Reference archives for the 2019-2020 playoffs. They tell a story of a team that simply refused to lose, no matter how weird the world got.
To stay updated on the Lakers' current pursuit of their 18th title, follow the local beat reporters like Dave McMenamin or Jovan Buha, who offer the most nuanced looks at the team's internal dynamics. Understanding the 2020 run is the only way to truly understand the expectations placed on the team today.