When we think about the NBA in early June each year, most of us immediately picture a champion etching their names into the record books while hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy after a tightly contested NBA Finals.
Not this year.
The year 2020 has given us COVID-19, and it has taken Kobe. We’ve experienced more innocent lives murdered at the hands of bigotry, and yet 2020 is seeing a powerful societal shift demanding change.
“Social distancing” has replaced the handshake as a form of respect; the mask has become the functional accessory of the year; voices from every walk of life are rising up in unity for black lives; and all while the country hurtles toward a November election that may itself prove to be unparalleled.