As the 2020 NBA season and playoffs come to an end, the NBA Finals kicked off on Wednesday, Sept. 30. Due to COVID-19, the NBA Playoffs have been played in The Bubble. The NBA created this building as a safe place for players to play and live in without having to worry so much about the coronavirus. The two teams that are battling head to head in the Finals are the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers finished the season as the first seed, and the Heat finished the fifth seed. Leading up to the Finals, both teams played tremendously. The Lakers and the Heat never went into a game seven in their playoff games and won the rounds by at least two games.

Starting off with the first game in the Finals, the Lakers destroyed the Heat. The final score was 116-98, taking the game with ease. LeBron James showed that he really wanted to win Finals MVP by putting up 25 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists. Although, Anthony Davis is also making his case for MVP as he had 34 points 9 rebounds and 5 assists.

“If Lebron keeps putting up numbers like this, no way he doesn’t win MVP,” said my dad, Chris Strine.

The second game was on Friday, Oct. 2, and was very similar to the first game. The Lakers ended up winning 124-114. Jimmy Butler, shooting guard for the Heat, has been putting up really good numbers in the Finals. Even though it hasn’t been enough to get a win, he has really shown his improvements throughout the season. LeBron ended up showing us again why he should be MVP by putting up insane numbers. He had 33 points 9 rebounds and 9 assists in game 2. Many say his teammate Anthony Davis could also win MVP, but his stats aren’t as good as LeBron’s stats so far.

The third game took place on Sunday, Oct. 4,  and had a turn of events. The Heat ended up winning 115-104 making the series two-to-one. LeBron still ended the game with 25 points 10 rebounds and 8 assists, but it wasn’t enough to win the game. In game three we really saw Butler giving it his all. He had 40 points 11 rebounds and 13 assists and made sure the Lakers knew it wasn’t going to be easy. During the fourth quarter, Jimmy Butler was seen saying, “You’re in trouble” getting into the Lakers’ player’s heads. 

Game four was on Tuesday, Oct. 6. The game started off with the series two-to-one with the Lakers in the lead. The Lakers ended up winning the game 102-96 and took a two-game lead making the series three-to-one. LeBron put on another great show and is making a statement for his run at Finals MVP. He ended up with 28 points 12 rebounds and 8 assists. Anthony Davis still is in the race for winning Finals MVP as he put up 22 points 9 rebounds and 4 assists. The Heat will have to give it their all these next games, or their run will come to an end.

Game five took place on Friday, Oct. 9. The Heat kept the series alive by winning the  game 111-108. Jimmy Butler played his heart out to keep the series alive.

“He looked so tired that the Heat had to call a timeout to get him a few more minutes.” said Dan Woike, a sports writer for CBS Sports.

LeBron finished the game with 40 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists. He continues to show his dominance even though they came up short.

Game six was the last game of the Finals and took place on Sunday, Oct. 11. The LA Lakers have won game six 106-93 and are now the 2020 NBA Champions. LeBron played 41 minutes of game six and finished with 28 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. LeBron averaged 29.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 8.5 assists throughout the Finals which is why many say he will win Finals MVP.