NBA 2020 Season finale | Dunk Bait
The NBA season has come to an end. The Lakers are the champions, Lebron James is the Finals MVP, the NBA showed us how to do a bubble, and Nick Nurse stopped by to discuss what the bubble was like for the Raptors. Hosted by Lajethro Jenkins, Josiah Johnson, and Zach Schwartz.
Video Transcript
LAJETHRO JENKINS: Welcome to "Dunk Bait," where we talk mostly basketball. Today, we're talking about Lakers. Yeah, obviously, our boys pulled it off-- LeBron, you know what I'm saying, AD, the bubble season, how incredible it was, the actual playing basketball during the pandemic. Also got a chance to talk to Nick Nurse, asked him a few questions about how he felt within the bubble, and what they got planned for next season.
Bron did Bron things-- four chips, four Finals MVPs, you know what I'm saying. Been in the final 10 years-- 10 times, eight out of the last nine years. We loving it. How y'all feel, baby? How we feeling?
JOSIAH JOHNSON: I've worn this shirt for the last three days. It's, obviously, the Mamba, the Gigi combo. Super lit. Honestly, it's sad. It's a little anticlimactic.
I think, as Laker fans, we expected this thing. And now, we've got to listen to the haters telling us about how we didn't want to play the Clippers or how we don't want to play the Bucks. In order to play the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, you have to get there. Shout out to Nick Wright, who really dropped some is on the other day, just talking about was Jimmy's legacy tarnished because he made it to the Finals and didn't win? Of course not.
The Finals is what you want to get to. So just because your team didn't make it, doesn't mean it's not as tough. Like these dudes, the mental fortitude that LeBron and the Lakers had-- Danny Green coming back after death threats-- and, obviously, Laker fans were out of pocket for that [BLEEP]. You know, even the city, obviously, guys got a little too turnt up. It was expected.
Not a lot of masks out there. Even in my own family. We needed this one for Kobe and for Nip. It's a great time to be a Lakers fan. And let's be real.
ZACH SCHWARTZ: Man, I was terrified that we-- that LeBron was going to have come to LA and then the Lakers-- he wasn't going to be able to get the ring for the Lakers, and there would be that nonsense about, well, he couldn't do it in LA. Or the nonsense that like LA isn't what it was. Just on both sides, I was just so worried that this marriage wouldn't work in this way that it should. I have seen the Lakers win six titles in my lifetime. I have seen the Lakers never go more than 10 years without a title.
What an absolute blessing it is to be a fan of his team. Shout out to Jeanie Buss. Shout out to Rob Pelinka for putting this [BLEEP] together. But more than anything, shout out to clutch and the goddamn clutch boys-- LeBron, AD, KCP. I cannot wait to see BJ Boston be a Laker with the clutch boys.
JOSIAH JOHNSON: [LAUGHS]
LAJETHRO JENKINS: Hey, bro, I couldn't care less about the haters at all. I couldn't care less about what they say. If it was so easy this year, your team would be in it.
You wouldn't be sad, talking [BLEEP] about the team that won. That's all I got to say about that. Y'all enjoy the projects.
All right, so how do y'all feel about the fact that we actually got basketball this season? They-- they put together the bubble, showing the world that quarantining works. Adam Silver showing our government how to operate in a pandemic. How historic like and amazing has this experience been for y'all?
ZACH SCHWARTZ: I mean, like you said, it's been amazing. Adam Silver pulled this off. He had his own doubts that they would pull it off. I think, you know, there were incidents along the way. But no one got-- there were no positive tests.
And that is incredible. There are certain countries that have gotten close to pulling this off. But, yeah, Adam Silver, shout to him. I mean, there were thousands of people working there.
JOSIAH JOHNSON: Shout out Chris Haynes, shout out Marc Spears, shout out Taylor Rooks for the time that she was in there really getting her flares up. And shout out to Malika Andrews, who was really holding it down.
LAJETHRO JENKINS: Taylor Rooks, how she handled, you know what I'm saying, the social unrest, dude, I feel like she was asking the toughest question in the bubble. Haynes had the best stories. And we ain't-- we keeping it a buck, Haynes, the last two years, pop your collar, my boy. You've been going crazy.
Shouts to them, man. As far as predictions, Lakers, chip, let's run it back. You know what I'm saying? Let's get Gallinari. Or get-- or get Adam Levine-- or Zach LaVine-- Adam Levine.
JOSIAH JOHNSON: Hey, get Adam too!
LAJETHRO JENKINS: Let's get Zach LaVine.
JOSIAH JOHNSON: Maroon 5 in the building!
LAJETHRO JENKINS: Get Adam too. You know what I'm saying? And that's all I got to say about predictions.
ZACH SCHWARTZ: We are lucky to have Nick Nurse here joining us today on "Dunk Bait. Coach Nurse, it's an absolute pleasure to have you. How you doing so far? What-- how's life outside the bubble? How you been?
NICK NURSE: Life outside the bubble is good and bad, right. You need to be in that bubble, if you're going to keep playing. That was the only thing. It was-- it was nice to get out. And looking back, it was-- it was a little rougher than maybe it seemed when we were in there because you get to go to play and practice, and the basketball was awesome.
JOSIAH JOHNSON: Before entering the bubble, you know, several players and coaches, including Giannis, who's, obviously, the MVP, Defensive Player of the Year this year, were very adamant that this would be one of the toughest, if not the toughest, championships to win. You were a coach of, obviously, the last team to win a championship outside of the bubble. After playing in the bubble, playing in the playoffs, can you say that this was the toughest championship, arguably, in NBA history and in your experience?
NICK NURSE: Yeah, it was difficult. There's no-- I mean, there was so much stuff going on, I think. And there's just-- it was so abnormal, right. It was so abnormal. You got to-- you got to say that.
And it was just no-- you know, no fans, no energy, no feel. You know, like I say, well, when people ask me, like, you know, you should have had Game 7 at home. Was that a big factor?
And I say, yeah, it was a big factor for the people that live in this city. Man, the electricity that goes into a city for a couple days leading into a Game 7, and the people out on the streets before and after the games, and that's the people I felt bad for. We got the basketball done.
JOSIAH JOHNSON: So the corona pandemic still isn't over. There have been some talks, potentially, about the 2021 season being in a similar type of bubble. You know, would you be on board with that? Or do you think it would be too difficult to have to play an entire season and postseason in a situation like you guys did?
NICK NURSE: My thoughts are this is, we got to play. We got to-- we got to-- everybody's got to-- we got to figure out how to continue to move on through this thing a little bit until-- till we can get squared away, right. We just-- so, you know, I'm up for anything to try to play. And I think that, somehow, we got to be able to-- we got to be able to get out of there once in a while, the bubble, or get our-- see our families once-- you know, something's got to give where there's a little bit of-- you know, I don't know what it is. I wouldn't want to try to play a whole season in a bubble.
I mean, what, we going to go in there and be in there for six, seven months? I think that's hard to do. I don't really know.
I haven't really been in many discussions. I think we'll start cranking that stuff up now that the season's over again about what it looks like. But those are-- those are just my thoughts.
ZACH SCHWARTZ: You've got your book coming out, "Rapture-- Fifteen Teams, Four Countries, One NBA Championship." Like how much of this current season did you pull from to put into the book? What was kind of your process for putting all that together?
NICK NURSE: Well, it started growing up in Iowa to my first year with the Raptors after winning it. There is-- there was a little bit of time to throw in a little bit about the pandemic and et cetera, but not a whole lot. It kind of goes-- ends at the first championship season.
LAJETHRO JENKINS: Well, it was great having you. Appreciate you, Nick. You've been great talking to you. Best of luck with the book.
I see that hat. What is-- are we-- you going to promote the hat? Is that-- is that for sale?
NICK NURSE: Yeah, that's the foundation-- all this stuff, got the boxing one.
LAJETHRO JENKINS: Uh-huh.
NICK NURSE: All this stuff goes on the foundation. It all goes to helping kids in Toronto with sports, and music, and books.
LAJETHRO JENKINS: All right, you take care. And best of luck next year.
NICK NURSE: Thanks, guys. I enjoyed it, man.
LAJETHRO JENKINS: That's the final show of the season. You feel me?
JOSIAH JOHNSON: Of the season, not forever.
LAJETHRO JENKINS: Of the season.
ZACH SCHWARTZ: Oh yeah.
LAJETHRO JENKINS: No, we got season two coming. But of the season, you know what I mean? It's been great.
Thankful to everybody that tapped in with us. You know what I mean? Really appreciate it. It's been a joy. Y'all have been the high point of the pandemic for me.
ZACH SCHWARTZ: Yeah.
LAJETHRO JENKINS: Talking to y'all, rapping about basketball, talking [BLEEP], having fun, you know what I mean?
ZACH SCHWARTZ: Hey, very quickly want to shout out some of the people that you don't get to see. Shout out to Greg, our editor, extraordinarily talented, Ravi, our producer, Jess, thank you guys. You made this absolutely possible. It's a lot of chaos from us. And they sort through it and make it enjoyable for you guys to watch.
JOSIAH JOHNSON: And thank you-- thank you to the fans. Our trajectory, we followed the Lakers a lot. We came in, we knew we were-- we knew we were GOAT level. But, you know, some people didn't get on board just immediately. They tried to come take shots.
And we saw all of that. And we collected it all. We took notes, mental notes. We're taking all season.
And now, we're hoisting the trophy. "Dunk Bait," come back season two. See when we see you.
Everybody stay safe. Mask up. Social distance. And strap up.
LAJETHRO JENKINS: I am the LaJethro Jenkins.
JOSIAH JOHNSON: KingJosiah54.
ZACH SCHWARTZ: I am Zach Schwartz. Get those boj lights.
LAJETHRO JENKINS: See you next season. Boja light boys, let's go!
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