Rockets news: Austin Rivers argues 2020 NBA champion should have a different kind of asterisk

Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers addressed the idea that the 2020 NBA champion should have an asterisk, and he put a twist on it.

Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers believes the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with the socio-political protests across the US makes the 2020 NBA title “one of the toughest” to be won. This is contrary to what some analysts have said about the asterisk that should be placed beside the 2020 would be champions.

Rivers shared these thoughts with Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report. For the Rockets guard, everything that's happening in the United States and across the world requires teams to be as resilient as ever. This reality makes the journey to the 2020 NBA title much more difficult.

The Rockets guard pointed out the challenge for NBA players whose respective teams are about to enter the bubble and have to leave their families. This adds a layer of intricacy to what's going on in the environment:

I talked to Austin Rivers about whether or not this NBA Champion will have an asterisk next to their name. This was his response: pic.twitter.com/Pn1EuVLP7p

— Taylor Rooks (@TaylorRooks) July 1, 2020

As mentioned, some analysts have pointed out that an asterisk should be placed beside the 2020 NBA champions. The asterisk serves to question the legitimacy of the title. After all, the NBA had to tweak the format just to finish off the season. Only 22 teams will return and all of them have to play eight more games to determine their seedings.

To make matters more complex, several players — even from contending teams — have opted not to join their team in the bubble location. Some players, too, have contracted the coronavirus.

This is the first time the league has had to do this. Even in shortened seasons due to a lockout, the league didn't have to succumb to restructuring the season in this fashion.

As for Rivers and the Rockets, they have an uphill battle as they try to win this unique championship. Houston holds the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference with a 40-24 record, though there's a legitimate possibility to get all the way up to No. 3 by the time the eight seeding games are done. The Rockets are 2.5 games behind the third-seeded Denver Nuggets.