{"id":33089,"date":"2020-08-27T08:52:27","date_gmt":"2020-08-27T12:52:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/?p=33089"},"modified":"2020-08-27T08:52:27","modified_gmt":"2020-08-27T12:52:27","slug":"nba-boycotts-fallout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2020\/08\/27\/nba-boycotts-fallout\/","title":{"rendered":"Analyzing the Fallout of the NBA Boycotts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, the Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> shocked the world by boycotting their playoff game against the Orlando Magic<\/a>. The NBA Boycotts continued, as players boycotted the game between the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> and the Houston Rockets<\/a>, as well as the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> and Portland Trailblazers<\/a> game. Following a player meeting tonight in Orlando that was meant to establish a course of action moving forward, it has now been reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania that the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> and the Los Angeles Clippers<\/a> have voted to boycott the season. All other teams in attendance voted to continue playing.<\/p>\n

Analysis of the NBA Boycotts<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Immediate Reaction<\/strong><\/h3>\n

How will the season continue without the heavyweight Los Angeles teams? This is the biggest immediate question, and it was voiced by Miami Heat<\/a> forward Udonis Haslem<\/a><\/strong> during the meeting following the exit of. both Los Angeles teams. Nearly all analysts predicted that one of the Los Angeles franchises would win the West, so it’s clear that the bubble’s competitiveness could be diminished.<\/p>\n

Esteemed ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith tweeted that, if the Lakers and Clippers do end up boycotting the bubble, the NBA Season would come to an end. This may not be true in a literal sense, but there will certainly be questions about the validity of this year’s champion. Furthermore, the wording of Smith is quite important, as he directly attributes the “unofficial end of the season” to LeBron James<\/a><\/strong>. This move will have a monumental effect not only on his legacy as a player but also as an ambassador and representative for the game of basketball.<\/p>\n

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If this is True \u2014 if LeBron decides to end the season \u2014 the NBA Season has unofficially come to an end.<\/p>\n

— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) August 27, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n