On March 11 of this year, the NBA world came to an abrupt halt when league officials made the executive decision to suspend the NBA season following the spread of COVID-19 across the United States. It happened very quickly: in the span of three hours, the league went from postponing only one game to suspending the entire season as it became apparent that the virus posed a serious threat to the health of the players and fans. This news had everyone in the basketball world wondering what the next move would be for the NBA. The season hadn’t concluded and the entirety of the playoffs had been left undecided. It was clear that fans, players, and league executives alike wanted the season to continue but a safe solution needed to be found before any play resumed.
After months of planning, the NBA finally announced an extensive plan to continue the season with a select group of playoff-contending teams at Disney World in Orlando. The return-to-play proposal came with a strict set of rules and regulations to ensure the safety of all players and staff. Once news broke of the league resuming, the plan quickly picked up the nickname of “The NBA Bubble” as the key to playing at Disney World was that nobody could enter or leave the resort. These regulations included daily COVID-19 tests and a two-week personal quarantine for players and staff when they first entered the bubble.
The bubble life didn’t come without its perks, though, as players were given access to a variety of activities around the Disney resort, including pools, gaming rooms, and restaurants. On June 30, players and staff from around the league touched down in Orlando and formally entered the bubble, and shortly thereafter, the NBA season was back in action. After a few play-in games were held to conclude the regular season, the playoff bracket was set, and teams prepared for what would become one of the most entertaining postseasons in NBA history. After two months of playoffs full of exciting series’ and historic individual performances, the Los Angeles Lakers were crowned NBA Finals Champions.
Motivated by years of being stuck in a playoff drought and the tragic passing of LM and Los Angeles legend Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and the Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in a six game series to conclude a post-season for the history books.
