32nd final for the Lakers, an NBA record
The Los Angeles Lakers will play in the 32nd NBA Finals in franchise history (the 26th since the franchise arrived in LA from Minneapolis in 1960). They have played at least one in each decade for over 70 years: 1 in the 40s, 5 in the 50s, 6 in the 60s, 3 in the 70s, 8 in the 80s, 1 in the 90s, 6 in the 2000s, 1 in the 2010s and now 1 to start the 2020 decade. In this area, Boston cannot fight with “only” 21 finals played, ahead of Golden State (11) and Philadelphia (9 ).
A length of Boston …
The Lakers are missing a title to join Boston at the top of the NBA charts. The Celtics have 17 championship banners, the last hanging under the roof of TD Garden in 2008, against 16 in LA. The two franchises are on a different planet compared to the rest of the league as the Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls share the third step of the podium with six titles.
Seed number 1 and in the final, a good omen
Best team in the West in the regular season (and therefore seeded number 1 in the conference), the Lakers have confirmed in the play-offs. They become the 11th team since 2000 (or 21 seasons) to reach the NBA Finals by being number 1 in the West. Out of the previous 10, the team in question has been crowned champion seven times, including the Angelenos in 2009 and 2010, their last two titles. The three teams lost in the final were the Golden State Warriors twice (2019 against Toronto and 2016 against Cleveland) as well as the Lakers once (2008 against Boston).
Play-offs of rare efficiency
Since 1984 and the passage to the four rounds of the play-offs (including the NBA final), this is only the fourth time that the Lakers have reached the final without ever losing twice against the same opponent in the first three rounds (1 loss each time against Portland, Houston and Denver). This was already the case in 1985 (title with only two defeats in total before the final), 1989 (defeat in the final after being undefeated, 11 wins, on the first three rounds) and 2001 (title with only one loss of all. the play-offs, in the final against Philadelphia).
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LeBron James will become the fourth player in League history to play ten finals in his career. He joins Kareem Abdul-Jabaar (10), Sam Jones (11) and Bill Russell (12).
James and Davis as Bryant and O’Neal
This year, with LeBron James (2nd) and Anthony Davis (6th), the Lakers have two players in the top 6 of the vote for the title of MVP. This is a franchise first since 2004. At the time, Kobe Bryant was 5th and Shaquille O’Neal 6th. They had also reached the NBA Finals before being beaten to everyone’s surprise by the Detroit Pistons in five small matches. A few weeks later, the divorce between the two players consumed, O’Neal had been sent to the Miami Heat.
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