On Wednesday September 30, the Miami Heat encountered the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The Miami Heat were the obvious underdogs, coming out of the Eastern Conference with a 44-29 record and the fifth seed in the east. They had a revolutionary playoff experience leading up to the finals, sweeping the fourth seed, Indiana Pacers, in the first round, upsetting the first seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the second round, and the third seeded Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic were the two leading scorers on the Miami Heat squad coming into the finals. The Los Angeles Lakers were a powerhouse in the regular season and playoffs. They came into the playoffs with a 52-19 regular season record and were the top seed in the Western Conference. They beat the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, and Denver Nuggets all in five games. Many expected the Los Angeles Lakers to face the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference Finals, but the Clippers were upset by the Denver Nuggets in the second round. Anthony Davis and LeBron James, arguably the most dominant players in the NBA, led the Lakers in scoring. They both averaged over 25 points per game in the regular season.

         In Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the first quarter was closely contested with each team fighting for an advantage. The Lakers began to pull away in the second quarter, and dominated the second half resulting in the final score of 116-98. Two crucial Heat injuries occurred in Game 1 that might have changed the entire series. Bam Adebayo, the starting center and third-highest leading scorer of the Miami Heat injured his neck after slamming into the shoulder of Lakers center Dwight Howard. Point guard, Goran Dragic, suffered a planter tear in his left foot. They both were listed as doubtful and did not return for Game 2. The Lakers took Game 2 as well with an astounding sixty-five combined points from Anthony Davis and LeBron James. The Heat were overpowered and the outstanding Lakers shooting made for their 124-114 loss. In Game 3, both Dragic and Adebayo remained off the court. Jimmy Butler, Miami’s leading scorer, had a historic night with 40 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists. Bam Adebayo came back for the first time since Game 1 in Game 4. The Miami Heat’s momentum from Game 3 made for an insanely competitive game. At halftime in Game 4, the Lakers led by 2, with Jimmy Butler leading the Heat with 13 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope leading the Lakers with 10 points. The game really went down to the last seconds, but Anthony Davis, arguably the best shooter on the Lakers, hit the three pointer to put the Lakers ahead 100-91 with 39.5 seconds left, basically ending the game. The Lakers went ahead 3-1 in the series winning 102-96 with LeBron James scoring 28 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, and eight assists. Everyone prepared for the Lakers to win the franchise’s seventeenth championship, especially because the Lakers had won every single playoff round in five games. The Heat, however, were not ready to go home. In Game 5, LeBron James scored 40 points with 13 rebounds and seven assists, and Anthony Davis had 28 points and 12 rebounds. The overall performance from the Heat was just enough to beat out these two dominant stars’ performances. Jimmy Butler had an amazing night with 35 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, and had help from Duncan Robinson with 26 points. Miami had six players score in double figures, out of just seven who went in the game. After Jimmy Butler’s two clutch free throws to put the Heat ahead, LeBron James found Danny Green for an open three to win the NBA Championship, however, the shot did not drop. The Lakers fanbase’s reaction to this was frighteningly negative. Danny Green’s wife reportedly received death threats over her husband’s shooting performance. In Game 6, the Heat simply looked exhausted. Although Goran Dragic returned to the court in Game 6, he was obviously not completely healthy and neither was Bam Adebayo. The Lakers went up 64-36 at halftime, marking the second largest lead in NBA Finals history. Although the game finished at 106-93, the game was over and the Lakers and LeBron James were able to add another ring to their collection. 

        This Finals’ series was more competitive than expected, but the same question will always be asked. Would the Heat have taken the Lakers to seven games or even won the NBA Finals without the injuries they suffered? The argument could be made that it would not have made a difference because of the starpower of the Los Angeles Lakers. However, the Miami Heat beat the two-time MVP of the NBA Giannis Antetokounpo in five games in the playoffs. Regardless of opinion, the Miami Heat had an incredible season, and LeBron James and Anthony Davis led the Lakers to their 17th NBA Championship.