Numerous NBA players have spoken on whether history will mark the eventual champion of the 2019-20 season with an asterisk. Many — including Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard — have actually stated this year's champion will have earned the title to the fullest extent.
Howard said Sunday this current season is “the hardest season of the NBA” because of the unique circumstances:
Dwight Howard: "Whoever wins this year, they deserve a championship because this is the hardest season of the NBA."
"Nobody can put an asterik on it."
"Whoever wins for real, I can speak it to extistence, this is going to be the toughest NBA season." pic.twitter.com/qdNHojJkMl
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) July 19, 2020
The three-time Defensive Player of the Year is hardly alone in his assertion that this will be the toughest challenge in NBA history.
Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers has said multiple times — given the pandemic and social unrest — the circumstances the players are facing this year are unparalleled.
Via Ben DuBose of Rockets Wire:
I think whoever wins should have an asterisk next to it, but only for it being one of the toughest championships ever won. You’re asking guys to take three to four months off, then come back and find chemistry, etc., and then play during a pandemic, all while players are fighting for BLM [Black Lives Matter].
Indeed, there is no telling how teams will respond in their first games back on the hardwood.
Howard and the Lakers might have been the best team in the Western Conference prior to the suspension of play, but things could look drastically different in Orlando.
All 22 teams are preparing for the restart under the constant guise of COVID-19 concerns and the maintenance of a strong voice with respect to social justice issues.
There is a feeling the conclusion to the 2019-20 season is about far more than just crowning a champion, which is why Howard and others feel said champion will be wholly deserving.
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