The 2019-20 NBA season was on the brink of a complete cancellation in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown that ensued to prevent further transmission of the virus. But the league decided to revive the season and continue it in a closed environment called the NBA Bubble in the Walt Disney Resort in Orlando, Florida, giving fans some of the most memorable moments in playoff history amid a trying time.
Four years later, Disney, the parent company of the NBA's primary broadcast partner in ESPN, is reportedly working on a documentary showing an exclusive “behind-the-scenes look at the 2020 Pandemic-era NBA Playoffs and NBA Finals in quarantine at the Walt Disney World Resort”, per Scott Gustin of Nexstar.
There was a lot of work that had to go behind the scenes to ensure that the remainder of the 2020 regular season and the entirety of the playoffs that followed went smoothly. Disinfecting the practice and playing courts was a necessity to ascertain the safety of players, while making sure that they underwent daily testing needed a lot of logistical coordination, to which fans will be more privy to with the release of the documentary.
But beyond all the rigorous preparations that went into making sure that the 2020 NBA bubble was a success, there were also plenty of storylines within the association that made that moment in time such a unique spectacle. 2020 may not have provided plenty of good memories due to the global pandemic, but the basketball during that time was memorable, for better or for worse.
The 2020 bubble was a unique time in the history of the NBA
When the dust settled in the bubble, it was the Los Angeles Lakers, led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis, that stood tall, capturing the franchise's 17th championship in the process. The Lakers were the cream of the crop in the Western Conference all season long, and they were the team that had the most mental fortitude which allowed them to navigate the difficult Orlando bubble.
Aside from the Lakers' triumph, there were plenty of entertaining narratives that made the bubble such a gripping watch. Damian Lillard and TJ Warren both played at an incredible level, with the former taking home bubble MVP honors. The Phoenix Suns also showed a glimpse of what was to come, winning all eight of their games in Orlando and falling just short of a playoff berth.
And then there's the playoffs; the Miami Heat shocked the world and eliminated the team that had the best record in the NBA in the regular season, the Milwaukee Bucks, en route to making it to the NBA Finals. The legend of playoff Jimmy Butler was born in the bubble.
Who could ever forget the Los Angeles Clippers' legendary 3-1 collapse? The Denver Nuggets also made history by becoming the first team in NBA history to come back from two separate 3-1 series deficits. Luka Doncic began his run as one of the greatest postseason performers of the past five years in Disney World, etching his name up in lights with a memorable game-winner against the Clippers.
Lakers fans will definitely be tuning into this documentary. So will Heat fans, even though they weren't able to claim the Larry O'Brien trophy in the end. But Clippers fans may want to avert their eyes from this one.
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