“Talk all that shit they want”: Phil Handy unleashes scathing rebuke after Daryl Morey questions legitimacy of Lakers’ 2020 bubble title

This week, Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey spoke about the LA Lakers’ 2020 title, saying that although he would have celebrated if Houston had won, the general sentiment around the league is that the Lakers’ title has an asterisk attached to it.

Former LA assistant coach Phil Handy, now with the Dallas Mavericks, took to X (formerly Twitter) to fire back.

As Handy sees it, Morey has no room to talk, and if the shoe were on the other foot, he wouldn’t be as dismissive of the 2020 bubble championship.

"They can talk all that shit they want," Handy said. "If you weren’t in the bubble to win it they may want to keep quiet about it. Every team came into the bubble to compete and win. If Houston would have beat us and won it I’m sure they wouldn’t be saying it wasn’t real lol."

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The Rockets wound up getting eliminated by the Lakers in the conference semifinals after a seven-game series against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.

Before the start of the 2020-21 season, Morey parted ways with Houston, ushering in a rebuild with the Rockets trading away James Harden and Russell Westbrook.

Bam Adebayo believes the Lakers' bubble title was the hardest title to win, not the easiest

Given that players didn't have to worry about traveling between playoff games, some members of the NBA community feel as though the 2020 NBA Finals was the easiest title to win.

However, Miami Heat starting center Bam Adebayo, who was on the opposite side of the ball in the 2020 NBA Finals, feels as though the bubble was the toughest title to win.

Back in 2023, during an appearance on The OG's Podcast hosted by Miami Heat vets Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller, Adebayo explained:

"That was the hardest championship to win in my opinion just because you're in there with just literally 15-deep lineup, plus coaches, staff, training staff. Other than that, it's you and your thoughts in one room boxed in."

"It was literally you, your thoughts and your teammates. That's it. I ain't talking to nobody, from the other team. It felt like you were gang-affiliated when you were in the bubble."

Adebayo wasn't the only one who felt that way. While in the bubble, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo said that he felt as though the 2020 championship would be the toughest in league history.

Even all this time later, the bubble championship is still a hot topic for debate.

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About the author

Evan Bell

Evan Bell is a journalist specializing in the NBA and NHL at Sportskeeda, whose love for the game stems from a childhood spent watching the Chicago Bulls. He has been there through their highs and lows, from the Jordan era to the exciting Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah years.

Evan finds the 82-game season and the intensity of playoff basketball exhilarating, and he also revels in the offseason drama. Phil Jackson stands out as his favorite coach, whom he admires for his composed leadership and success in managing dynamic personalities like Dennis Rodman.

To deliver top-quality content, Evan fact-checks information while diligently keeping up with the action year-round.

When he's not writing, Evan follows tennis and Greek football, and also plays basketball and tennis.

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