With the Los Angeles Lakers making their first Finals appearance after 10 years, they are coming with the heat against Miami.

With the addition of Anthony Davis in the offseason, the Lakers have obtained first place in their conference and second place in the league with a 52-19 win record. This is a huge jump from last season as they missed the playoffs for the 6th time in a row––the longest playoff drought in franchise history.

The Lakers also added key players to their rosters like Danny Green, former NBA All-Star and 3-time Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard; and bringing along a new head coach in Frank Vogel, the Lakers had amazing chemistry to start the season.

Many players stepped up and played their roles efficiently, like Alex Caruso who leads the bench with his 6th man role on the team. Lebron James played a different kind of basketball this year, averaging 25 points, eight rebounds a game, and averaged a league-high 10.2 assists, which is also the highest assist per game average he has had in a single season. After breezing through the first three rounds of the playoffs, winning every series in five games, the Lakers have advanced to the Finals.

However, the Miami Heat are the underdogs of the NBA Finals, just like they were in the semi-finals and conference finals. To start the season, the Heat drafted rookie Tyler Herro with their 13th pick in the draft. They would pick up some key players to their team, one of which was five-time NBA All-Star, Jimmy Butler and made deals with some great role players.

This team had an undeniable bond with their big three of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Tyler Herro. The Miami Heat were able to clinch the 5th seed in the playoffs with their great performance in the regular season and doing good in the NBA bubble, which was caused by COVID-19 taking away sports from the world.

After surprisingly sweeping the hot Indiana Pacers team with TJ Warren, Victor Oladipo, and Domantas Sabonis, they went on to face the 1st seed in the league. The Milwaukee Bucks, led by back-to-back MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and All-Star teammate, Khris Middleton. Being the underdogs in the series with everyone thinking that this Miami Heat team was about to be swept from the playoffs, they ignored the media and did the impossible: they beat the Milwaukee Bucks. And they didn’t just win the series, they closed out the series in just five games.

With critics and fans thinking that the semifinals was just a fluke, the Heat decided to prove them wrong once again. They faced the Boston Celtics, led by Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and All-Star Kemba Walker. With Tyler Herro breaking a Miami Heat playoff record, previously held by future hall-of-famer, Dwyane Wade, the Heat was able to pull off this series win too, in just six games. After being the underdogs that ‘got lucky’, this Miami team is trying to win the finals for the first time since Lebron was on the team.

On Sep. 30, these two teams played for the first time since December of 2019, where the Lakers beat them twice in the regular season. Miami took a 25-12 lead in the first eight minutes of the games. This would not phase the Lakers as they would bounce back in the second quarter and never look back. Leading by as much as 32 points midway through the third quarter, the Lakers’ biggest enemy was now the clock as they were waiting for the buzzer to sound.

After the horn, the Lakers won 116-98, an 18 point blowout led by Anthony Davis and his 34-point outing. Though the Miami Heat are faced with a serious problem. Injuries. Goran Dragic received a torn plantar fascia, an injury in his foot that took him out the rest of game one and mostly the next few games. Bam Adebayo also received an injury Wednesday night, as he has reaggravated his left shoulder, and Jimmy Butler rolled his ankle. This Heat team is looking like their luck has come to an end, due to injury.

During the second game, the Heat was able to make the game much closer. With Jimmy Butler leading his team in scoring, assists, and pulling down eight rebounds, he had the help of Kelly Olynyk from off the bench. Olynyk put up 24 points on efficient shooting, and with the help of Tyler Herro, the Miami Heat kept this a close game throughout the 48 minutes. Even with their 34 free throws, Anthony Davis and Lebron James put the team on their backs and carried them to a victory.

Anthony Davis had 32 points, shooting 75% from the field, and pulled down 14 rebounds, leading the game in rebounding. Lebron James bullied the Heat with his near triple-double game, scoring 33 points, grabbing nine rebounds, and dishing out nine assists with a single turnover. The Lakers bench was led by Rajon Rondo, with his 16 points and 10 assists without any turnovers. After winning the second game of the NBA Finals, this will be Lebron’s first time ever leading 2-0 in a finals series.

The third game was the deciding game and with a commanding 2-0 lead over the Miami Heat, the Lakers are looking for the sweep. Jimmy Butler had other ideas. Still without their two other big star players, Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic, Jimmy Butler rallied up his team and got off to a hot start leading 22-9 within the first quarter. After the first half, the Heat always had a lead on the Lakers, up until early in the fourth quarter, coming back to lead 91-89. However, this would not last long, as the Heat would go on their final run and win the game over the Lakers.

The Lakers had 78 of their 104 points come from four players, Lebron James, Anthony Davis, Kyle Kuzma, and Marcus Morris. Jimmy Butler dropped 40 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists, playing 45 out of the 48 minutes. The two young Miami Heat shooting guards in Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson scored a total of 30 points and together the Heat looked to try and tie up the series.

With the coming of the fourth game, Anthony Davis told his teammates and coaches that he wanted to guard the scorching hot Jimmy Butler. This proved to be the right decision as he held Jimmy Butler to 1-5 shooting when guarding him. He also proved why he should’ve won Defensive Player of the Year blocking four shots while scoring 22 points. Jimmy scored 22 points, proving that Anthony Davis is the best player to guard Butler.

The return of Bam Adebayo came in this game as he dropped 15 points and seven rebounds.in his second game of the NBA Finals. Lebron James dominated the Heat again, getting 28 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists. Once again the shooting duo of Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson scored 21 and 17 points, respectively. But it would prove to not be enough as Lebron and the Lakers went on to win the game and go up 3-1 in the series, looking to end the series and win their 17th franchise championship.

With the Lakers having the commanding 3-1 lead against the Miami Heat, they are attempting to close out the series away in game 5, as they have done in the three previous playoff rounds. Announcing that the Lakers were wearing their Black Mamba jerseys, there was the belief that they were going to win, seeing that they were undefeated in those jerseys.

Starting the game off going back and forth, the Heat would start to pull away during the early second quarter. The Lakers would make a push and trail by a couple of points for the rest of the game. Coming down to the last plays of the game, there were lots of fouls and free throws. With the Lakers being down 109-108 with 17 seconds left, Lebron got the ball and drove to the basket. With an amazing pass to Danny Green at the top of the key, his shot was straight for the basket. Unfortunately, he was short and would lose the game, receiving their first loss in the Mamba jerseys and second loss in the finals. With Jimmy Butler playing 47 out of the 48 minutes, he willed his team to victory with his triple-double, beating out the 40 points Lebron James.

In Game six with a potential winner, the Lakers look to win their 17th championship and tie the Boston Celtics in total franchise championships. Ending the first quarter with an eight point lead, the Lakers are feeling very strong and would never look back, continuing to lead the entire game, being up by as much as 36 points late in the third quarter. The Lakers would win the game, win the series, and win the championship; something they were set on doing since the start of the season. Lebron James led the game with a 28 point triple-double and would go on to win his fourth Finals MVP, along with his fourth championship.

With the Lakers having a very hard season, they were able to push through their obstacles and win the 2020 NBA championship. They dedicated this season to the late Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi, after their tragic passing earlier in the year. With many first time winners like Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard, and Alex Caruso, they will be looking to repeat next season and win their 18th championship.