Los Angeles Lakers bring home championship and become top selling franchise in fanatics history
The Los Angeles Lakers bring home the NBA Finals Championship after ten years, making this the franchise’s 17th championship title. The last time the Lakers won a championship title was with the late Kobe Bryant.
The game came to an end with the Lakers totaling 106 points and the Miami Heat with 93. This win for the Lakers brought the finals to an end with a 4-2 series victory.
LeBron James was given The Finals most valuable player (MVP) award, landing 14 rebounds, scoring 28 points and helping with 10 assists.
James has become the first player in NBA history to be named MVP in The Finals with three different teams: The Lakers, Cavaliers and Heat.
The team’s win comes after a rough season for players who started off with a shutdown due to the international pandemic (Covid-19).
LeBron James said in an instagram post that it was tough to be in a bubble but that the fans made the journey possible. He told fans he couldn’t wait to get back to them in LA.
Players have been isolated in a biosecure bubble (NBA Bubble) located at Walt Disney World in Florida for three months to avoid the coronavirus.
The Lakers endured several devastating events this year including the loss of the late 5 time champion Kobe Bryant. He and his 13-year-old daughter, along with several others lost their lives in a tragic helicopter crash in late January.
Along with great loss, came a silver lining with Sunday’s win. Many players from the Lakers wanted to win this championship in memory of Kobe.
“Ever since the tragedy, all we wanted to do is do it for him, and we didn’t let him down,” Anthony Davis said during the trophy ceremony. “It would have been great to do it last game in his jerseys, but it made us come down even more aggressive, even more powerful on both ends of the floor, to make sure we close it down tonight. I know he’s looking down on us proud of us. I know Vanessa [Bryant is] proud of us, the organization’s proud of us. It means a lot to us.”
Hours after the win, Fanatics announced that the Lakers have become the top-selling NBA Finals Champions in company history. The Company stated that the Lakers sold more merchandise in 12 hours than the previous record holders, the Cleveland Cavaliers, sold in 30 days.
Fanatics also stated that LeBron James became the top selling NBA player since the win on Sunday, with Kobe Bryant right behind him.
More than 100 countries purchased Lakers merchandise and 85 percent of purchases came from mobile devices.
A celebration parade will be postponed due to the pandemic and the franchise has yet to release any further celebration information.
