When the NBA season was suspended due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in March, LeBron James and the Lakers were playing their best basketball of the season. They’d just beaten fellow top title contenders Milwaukee (March 6) and the Clippers (March 8) before their last game, a blip against Brooklyn (March 10).
LeBron’s push towards a 5th MVP award was gaining legit momentum.
The 49-14 Lakers had opened a 5.5-game lead in the West with 18 to play, and were two games back in the overall loss column to the Bucks. The West’s top seed was quite secure especially considering a soft schedule to close out the season.