Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets has a few opinions about the NBA Bubble.
Back in 2020, the entire world – including the NBA – was rocked by the chaotic COVID-19 pandemic.
In a matter of days, everything was brought to a complete halt and a lot of uncertainty and fear swirled.
In the end, the NBA was one of the first parts of society to start moving again, but under strict rules and regulations.
The playoffs and Finals were played in Orlando, Florida in a contained environment that would be referred to as the “Bubble.”
The Los Angeles Lakers won it all and some people felt that their victory shouldn’t be considered a real one because of the bizarre circumstances in which it was achieved.
“That was the highest basketball being played, because it was only basketball.”
Jamal Murray describes how players were LOCKED IN during the NBA Bubble 🔒 pic.twitter.com/VfxJ2Fr7XZ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 5, 2022
Murray sure doesn’t think so.
He recently told Taylor Rooks that the Bubble was an instance of “the highest basketball being played, because it was only basketball.”
He spoke of how players were focused solely on the game, practicing and playing and doing little else.
It was high-performance sports in a vacuum, free of any exterior distractions.
People will long debate the Bubble and what the unique Finals meant but Murray’s opinion will not change.
Balling In A Bubble
Murray and his Nuggets were taken down by the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals that year, losing 1-4 against the eventual champions.
He says that the games in Orlando were fierce and determined with all players solely set on playing the best ball that they could.
There are some who think the Lakers’ ring from 2020 should come with an asterisk, that it doesn’t mean as much because it was won in the Bubble.
Murray obviously isn’t one of those people.
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