There has always been a bit of debate about the legitimacy of the Los Angeles Lakers 2020 NBA Championship won inside the Orlando bubble as the season was delayed due to the worldwide coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. While some have called it the toughest championship ever due to the circumstances surrounding everything, others have tried to downplay the accomplishment and the latest to jump on the bandwagon is Philadelphia 76ers general manager Daryl Morey.
Morey recently spoke on the 2020 championship, saying that people around the league believe that ring isn’t a genuine one. For the most part, those on that Lakers team have dismissed that notion, but in this instance, former assistant coach Phil Handy was not going to let that comment go unanswered.
Handy took to social media to blast Morey and anyone else criticizing the Lakers’ 2020 championship, noting that every team came into the bubble with the same goals. He added that Morey wouldn’t have these same thoughts had the Houston Rockets team he was in charge of at the time came out on top:
They can talk all that shit they want. 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.
— Phil Handy (@94feetofgame) July 30, 2025
In fairness to Morey, he did precede that statement by saying that had the Rockets won he would be calling that championship legitimate. But that only brings up the question of why make that comment at all. By acknowledging he would celebrate that title had his team won it, these kinds of comments only come off as jealousy, bitterness and hate, which is why Handy felt the need to respond the way he did.
At the time the season shut down, the Lakers held the best record in the West by a decent margin and had just beaten the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers, the other two championship favorites, in back-to-back games. For Morey or anyone else to pretend as if the bubble is the only reason the Lakers hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy is just foolish and Handy is tired of hearing the excuses.
Phil Handy reuniting with former Lakers coaches in Dallas
That 2020 Lakers championship team that Phil Handy was on the staff for was coached by Frank Vogel with Jason Kidd as the lead assistant. And now all three are reuniting with the Dallas Mavericks as Handy is joining the staff under Kidd who also recently brought in Vogel as an assistant as well.
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