2020 NBA Finals

The 2020 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2019–20 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat, 4–2 and 17th title overall in franchise history. The Los Angeles Lakers also became the first and only team in NBA history to be undefeated in a season when leading entering the fourth quarter, going a combined 57–0 record in the regular season and playoffs. The Lakers' LeBron James was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the fourth time in his career. He became the first and only player in NBA history to be named Finals MVP with three different franchises (two with the Heat, one with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and one with the Lakers) and along with teammate Danny Green, jointly the third players to win the NBA Finals with three different teams. He won the Finals MVP award in a unanimous 11–0 vote by leading his team in points, rebounds, and assists for the entire series, after averaging 29.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 8.5 assists per game on the very efficient 59% shooting. Lakers president Jeanie Buss became the first female controlling owner to guide her team to an NBA title. The Lakers were the No. 1 seed in the West, while the Heat were No. 5 in the East, becoming the third-lowest seed to advance to the Finals. This was the first NBA Finals matchup between the two teams, and the first time that Finals participants had both missed the playoffs in the previous season. James had previously played with Miami under Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, winning back-to-back NBA titles in 2012 and 2013 in four consecutive Finals appearances from 2011 to 2014, while Heat president Pat Riley was head coach of the "Showtime"-era Lakers from 1981 to 1990, leading them to four NBA titles in seven Finals appearances. For the first time in six seasons, the Golden State Warriors were not in the Finals. The Finals were originally scheduled for June, but the season was suspended in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NBA and its players later approved a plan to restart the season in late July, setting up the NBA Bubble at Walt Disney World to protect teams from the virus. The games were played in the Bubble behind closed doors at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Bay Lake, Florida, with the Finals being played from September 30 through October 11. The Finals marked the conclusion of the NBA Bubble, which recorded no COVID-19 cases for the participating teams. The 2020 Finals was the latest to begin (beating the 1999 edition which began on June 16) and the first one played in September and October, and as well held in the fall.