The NBA, making its way through unusual conditions during the 2019-20 NBA season, was able to conclude the season and declare a champion, though not without some players expressing their reservations about the NBA bubble.
Lou Williams was among those who have reservations. The retired NBA guard was a crucial part of the Los Angeles Clippers when they were seen as title favorites, thanks to the addition of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Unfortunately, their promising playoff campaign was cut short when they blew a 3-1 series lead to the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the playoffs.
Many still mock the 2020 Clippers for their playoff meltdown, given the high expectations placed upon them. Reflecting on this, Williams thinks they would’ve won the title in 2020 if not for the NBA bubble, as the team really didn’t want to be there.
As transcribed by Caitlyn Holroyd of theScore:
“I think we win the championship if COVID doesn’t happen. It was a struggle to get us to the bubble to begin with; we didn’t even wanna go,” Williams said. “So I think, just mentally, we came into it without the right mindset to finish the job. We didn’t even wanna be there.”
“I think I was in the bubble – 97 days was how long I was there, and I think about Day 67, I was like, ‘Let’s get the f— out of here.’ So I think mentally, we wasn’t in it for the long game,” he explained. “We didn’t really see the pot of gold at the end of it. We were starting to hear the rumblings, like, ‘Ahh, nobody’s gonna respect this chip’ and all of that, so I think we kind of just took our foot off the gas.”
“I think we win a championship if Covid didn’t happen. I was in the bubble for 97 days. By day 67, I was like, ‘Let’s get the f*ck out of here.'”
Lou Williams says the Clippers may have won a ring if the pandemic didn’t happen
(via FromThePointPodcast)pic.twitter.com/mQYicdudls
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 31, 2023
