Pelicans Scoop

LeBron James' Ex-Teammate Reacts to Daryl Morey Bashing Lakers Championship

Kendrick Perkins had a lot to say about the 76ers President of Basketball Operations.
Grant Mona|
Dec 22, 2020; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers players Anthony Davis and LeBron James and Quinn Cook and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope pose with their 2020 NBA Championship rings before a game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Dec 22, 2020; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers players Anthony Davis and LeBron James and Quinn Cook and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope pose with their 2020 NBA Championship rings before a game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Philadelphia 76ersHouston RocketsNew Orleans PelicansLos Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers' 2020 NBA title has been one of the most controversial and debated championship runs in the history of basketball. In a circumstance such as what occurred in 2020 with a global pandemic, the months long layoff, and the passing of franchise and NBA legend Kobe Bryant, there was plenty of maneuvering to be done.

But even with the questions surrounding the team, there are certainties about the 2020 Lakers. Even before the season was shut down for months, the Lakers held a 49-14 record, which put them at the top of the Western Conference above the Los Angeles Clippers.

Even though the narrative seemed to be that the Lakers benefited from the "Bubble," they had just beaten the Milwaukee Bucks and Clippers convincingly over the week before the March 11th season suspension.

Teams like the Houston Rockets and Clippers did play well before the shutdown. Still, the Lakers were easily the best team in the league outside of the bubble, with only a small portion of games remaining in the regular season anyway.

Daryl Morey speaks boldly about the Lakers' 2020 NBA Finals run

Daryl Morey's Houston Rockets, at the time, faced the Los Angeles Lakers in the Conference Semifinals after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the 2020 playoffs.

After a dominant performance in Game 1, led by James Harden and Russell Westbrook, the Rockets lost four games in a row and were eliminated by the Lakers.

Morey, who is now the President of Basketball Operations for the Philadelphia 76ers, opened up about what the league thinks of the 2020 NBA Finals.

"Had the Rockets won the title, I absolutely would have celebrated it as legitimate, knowing the immense effort and resilience required. Yet, everyone I speak to around the league privately agrees that it doesn't truly hold up as a genuine championship," Morey said. "Perhaps the lasting legacy of the NBA bubble is that the NBA should be proud of its leadership at both the beginning and end of the pandemic, even though the champion will forever be marked by an asterisk."

Kendrick Perkins chimes in on Morey's Comments

Former Pelicans center and LeBron James' ex-teammate Kendrick Perkins weighed in on Morey's comments on a recent appearance on ESPN's NBA Today.

"Why is Daryl Morey even talking about this? We would like to hear you address what Joel Embiid talked about a few weeks ago. Talk about your organization. There's some cleaning up that you need to be doing. It was one of the greatest championships...and hardest," Perkins exclaimed.

While Perkins was not a part of the Lakers in 2020, he was a part of the Cavaliers teams that went to the Finals in the 2014-2015 and 2017-2018 seasons.

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Grant Mona
GRANT MONA

Grant Mona is a multimedia sports journalist based in Los Angeles, covering multiple teams. He is a co-host and producer on The Sporting Tribune Today on The BET Las Vegas, KIRN 670 in Southern California and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network. He formerly played baseball with the University of the Pacific Tigers.

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