The Tampa Bay Lightning have just recently won the Stanley Cup Championship, and the Los Angeles Lakers recently won the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Both teams battled through unfamiliar circumstances and came out on top. However, sports fans everywhere are questioning whether these championships should come with an asterisk. Why is this?
Twitter user Josiah Johnson sent a tweet that has sparked questioning to this exact point.
After sports returned in July, social media sites were again fluttered with sports commentary, and the NBA is no exception to this. The NBA dominated headlines, whether they be for the competition on the court or the action that was happening on the court while they were in their bubble in Orlando, Florida. However, the Los Angeles Lakers, who had the Western Conference’s best record in the regular season, were the ones who came out on top, and were led by Lebron James, perhaps the most dominant and polarizing player of this generation, as well as Anthony Davis, a megastar in his own right. Having players of this caliber on a team like the Los Angeles Lakers, who have a culture defined by both winning and toxicity, allows for most fans to absolutely despise the team. So when they win a championship in an unorthodox season, it causes people to dismiss and not even talk about it.
The Lightning have been a juggernaut for the past half decade, but never could get over the hump. Winning this year for them seemed relatively fitting, but also gives questions for legitimacy. The Lightning were able to grab the second seed in the playoffs despite not even winning their division. While this did not change their path too much, it gave them an edge over teams like the Boston Bruins, who won that division but did not perform well in the round robin series.
The circumstances helped both the Lightning and Lakers win their championship, but they also allowed for a deep playoff run for the MLB’s Houston Astros, a team that would be nowhere near a playoff spot in a normal year. Despite a 29–31 record, they qualified for the playoffs and were able to advance all the way to the American League Championship Series. While it is impressive, the fact that they only qualified for the playoffs as a result of these circumstances makes them an easy team to question.
Should these championships come with an asterisk? My answer is no. Even though the circumstances have been different, they may have made these champions even more clearly the most deserving teams. Rising to the occasion in these circumstances shows the grit a team needs to win a title, and using the circumstances to discredit them is the incorrect response.