LeBron James has dominated his way through the league ever since the Cavaliers drafted him. However, individual performances don’t win championships in most cases. Despite being the best player on the court for the last 18 years, he only has four championships.

This is because there are other important factors that determine the success of a team. A team cannot rely on just individual performances. Chemistry and morale, among other factors and circumstances, play a key role in a team’s hustle. And last year, LeBron James even admitted that they are essentially ‘make it or break it’ factors for a team’s performance.

Going into the break of 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lakers were having a stellar run that made them favorites to win it all. However, the sudden change in the atmosphere of the games was majorly making the league tougher for the players. Yet some experts believed that the new circumstances would be considerably more difficult for the Lakers.

Was the Bubble the hardest championship for LeBron’s Lakers?

LeBron James and Anthony Davis carried the team to a championship in the bubble. Subsequently, LeBron James confessed the bubble was one of the two hardest championship victories in the league’s history. And now, in an interview with former Laker Kyle Kuzma, former NBA star Gilbert Arenas has also agreed with LeBron that the bubble was in fact extremely hard.

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He said, “You know it’s so funny like, I guess LeBron said that was his hardest championship, right? He was right. Like, people say, ‘oh it was the bubble, it was you know, it’s in the bubble it was easier there’s no pressure,’ and I was saying it then that that championship is gonna be the hardest for the La- like the bubble, the bubble gives everyone an advantage but the Lakers.

While Arenas was not in the bubble himself, but he could sympathize with the Lakers on how this change was different for them. He felt that since the Lakers have fans all over the world, they don’t really have away games where they get booed. But how was this lack of fans in the building affecting the team morale?

Why was the Bubble the hardest for LeBron James and the Lakers?

The mentality aspect revolving around the morale of the team due to lack of fans makes sense, considering that the Lakers no longer had the overwhelming number of fans present even in away games.

However, it is still hard to agree that it was the hardest championship. That is the more agreeable stance considering the narrative revolving around mental health.

In terms of physical difficulty, though, the 2016 championship still stands above the Bubble. The comeback from 3-1, the physical effort it took for LeBron to carry the defense and offense of that team; undoubtedly that was a more physically challenging championship.

However, this is not to discount the fact that a complete change in the playing atmosphere, the absence of the comfort of going home to their families, and the neutrality of the fans made the Bubble a rather tough challenge for the Lakers.