2020 was quite a year for the world, including the world of sports. The COVID-19 pandemic forced sports leagues worldwide to navigate the reality of that time in new and unusual ways. Most if not all basketball fans remember the “NBA Bubble” solution that confined the entirety of the league onto one campus, for three months. WUFO is checking in on the sixteen bubble playoff teams to see what life has been like since Disney World.
22 teams were invited to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. In order to receive the invite, teams had to either be a playoff seed or within six games of the eighth seed in the conference. The Hornets, Bulls, Knicks, Pistons, Hawks, Cavaliers, Timberwolves, and Warriors were left off the guest list ending their seasons early.
The 22 teams would start the bubble by playing eight regular season games, then the first version of a Play-in tournament was introduced to determine the eighth seed for the playoffs, and finally the playoffs.
So what have those sixteen playoff teams been up to? Lets start with the Bubble champion Lakers.
Los Angeles Lakers (Bubble Champs. 1 seed then; 9th now)
The Lakers haven’t been able to recapture the magic of the 2019-2020 season, other than a loss in the conference finals in the 2022-23 season. They lost several core members of their championship roster including Kyle Kuzma, Alex Caruso, and JaVale McGee. They fired Head Coach Frank Vogel following the 21-22 season, after missing the playoffs with a 33-49 record. It’s clear that the deconstruction of their championship team from 2020, doomed them to a steady decline.
Under first-time Head Coach JJ Redick, the Lakers are currently the ninth seed in a heavily contested Western conference with a 12-10 record. Early in the season, the defense seemed to be the issue. Now that the defense has begun to find its identity, the team’s offense has taken a plunge. It’s too early to panic, but there is little room for error. I expect the Lakers to right the ship as these early issues are very likely due to a brand-new coaching staff that will eventually settle into a winning culture.(ideally)
Los Angeles Clippers (2 seed then; 7th now)
The Clippers of today look nothing like they did in the Bubble. Other than the literal rebranding that sees the Clips sporting a new logo and arena, the team ended the PG and Kawhi experiment before the start of the current season by sending PG13 to Philly. LA added James Harden to their roster last season, who has kept the team above water in the early goings of the 2024 season, despite Kawhi Leonard’s absence
2019-2020 was the first year we saw the PG and Leonard duo and their loss in the second round to the Nuggets in seven games had fans excited for the future. Unfortunately, injuries famously plagued this highly anticipated pairing and ultimately prevented them from ever reaching the mountaintop; only appearing in one conference final in five years.
The Clippers are currently the 7th seed and are getting it done through their defensive effort. The team ranks 4th in defense but 24th in offense and only managed to tally 80 points in the loss to Minnesota yesterday. Kawhi Leonard remains out but is making steps towards his return, according to the team.
Denver Nuggets (3 seed then, 8th now)
Back in the Bubble, the Nuggets and Jazz gave us one of the most memorable playoff series in recent memory when their first-round matchup went to seven games. The series established Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray as one of the best duos in the league. They would go on to lose to that year’s champion Lakers in the Conference finals in just five games.
This was the start of a golden chapter for Denver who would win the finals in 2023, and leading man Nikola Jokic has managed to win three MVP awards in the time since the Bubble. The team has finished top three in the conference every year since the Bubble.
Today, Jokic continues to be the best player in the world and could very well be on the way to another MVP award, however, the team’s lack of depth and Jamal Murray’s unimpressive start to the season has them looking vulnerable early. I expect Denver to address bench concerns before the trade deadline so don’t be surprised if they finish the year top three in the West once again.
Houston Rockets (4 seed then, 2nd now)
The Bubble for the Rockets would be the last winning season with Head Coach Mike D’Antoni and superstar James Harden. Houston would best OKC in a first-round series that went to seven games, before losing to the eventual champions in the second.
Head Coach Mike D’Antoni informed the team he would not be returning as head coach following the bubble and expiration of his contract. Triggering a rebuild that would take place over the following seasons. James Harden would be traded the next season and Stephen Silas coached the Rockets to three losing seasons before being replaced by Ime Udoka.
The addition of Udoka, Vets like Fred VanVleet and Dillion Brooks, and draft picks like Jalen Green and Amen Thompson led to a .500 2023-24 season for the first time since D’Antoni’s departure. Today, Houston has ridden on the back of their defense and bench depth to a 15-7 record and 2nd in the West; continuing to defy preseason expectations.
Oklahoma City Thunder (5 seed then, 1st now)
Following the Bubble loss in the first round to the Houston Rockets, the Thunder entered a period of being flat-out uncompetitive, finding themselves at the bottom of the West three times in a row. They moved on from familiar faces like Steven Adams and Dennis Schroder; drafting names like Josh Giddey, Chet Holmgren, and Tre Mann to complement young star SGA. The team’s commitment to building a young core that can win for a long time paid off last season when the Thunder finished first in the West after finishing 10th the season prior.
Ultimately their youthful inexperience would rear it’s ugly head in a second-round series against the Dallas Mavericks, losing in six games. They would make a big splash by winning the Isaiah Hartenstein sweepstakes in the offseason and forming a two-headed monster with him and Holmgren. (even though they have yet to play a single game together.)
The Thunder have the league’s best defense and the number one seed in the West. They show no signs of stopping.
Utah Jazz (6 seed then, 14th now)
The 2020 first-round exit for the Jazz was the beginning of the end for the then-regime featuring Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. The pattern of early playoff exits had begun to cement itself, with the bubble being the third time in a row that Utah failed to make it out of the second round.
Reports of poor team chemistry followed the team in the years to come as well as the playoff curse, prompting the team to blow up the aging roster and enter a rebuild following the 2021-22 season.
Since moving on from Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, the team has been hard to watch, to say the least. Finishing 12th in the West in both of the last two seasons. Utah is off to a terrible 4-17 start this year and sit at 14th in the West. Might be time to cook something up before the trade deadline.
Dallas Mavericks (7 seed then, 3rd now)
The Bubble also happened to be the playoff debut for young stars Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. Luka, as always delivered what was expected of him, even more. Porzingis, on the other hand only played the first three games of the series due to heel and knee injuries that he was battling.
Injuries would continue to plague Porzingis, as they have his entire career, and after averaging just under 14 points in another round-one exit against the Clippers in 2021-2022 the Mavs decided he wasn’t the Rrobin to Luka Doncic’s Batman and moved on.
In 2022 the Mavs acquired Kyrie Irving from the Nets Via trade but despite being the fifth seed in February, the Mavericks fell off a cliff to end the season and missed the playoffs.
2023 saw the issues resolved for Dallas, making it to the Finals, without ever seeing a game seven. Unfortunately, they didn’t put up much of a fight against Boston, who dominated and won in just five games.
Today, Dallas has won nine of its last ten games and is third in the West, just 2.5 games back from the number one spot. Dallas has the means and star power to make it out of the West this season but with competition so tightly contested, nothing will come easy.
Portland Trail Blazers (8 seed then, 13th now)
The Trail Blazers of this time were a Cinderella story when it came to clinching the 8th seed in the Bubble playoffs; the team you couldn’t help but root for. The magic that Damian Lillard and company in the regular season and play-in portions of the bubble ran out when they met the Lakers in the first round. The duo of Dame Dolla and C.J McCollum were simply no match for the play of LeBron James and Anthony Davis; besting Portland in just five games.
Portland would lose to the Denver Nuggets in the first round in the 2020-21 season and has missed every playoff since. Moving on from McCollum and Lillard in back-to-back seasons placed them firmly into a rebuild; where they remain today. With an 8-14 record, Portland holds the 13th spot in a tightly contested Western Conference.
A lot of time has passed since the pandemic and NBA Bubble; keep an eye out for an update on the Eastern teams next week.
Written by Raven Ullah, WUFO Intern
