The Miami Heat president Pat Riley used the proper channels to inform the media that he never claimed the Los Angeles Lakers’ title win has an asterisk on it.
The former legendary coach and current team executive reflected on the 2020 NBA Finals and how injuries played a role for the Miami Heat in the series.
(via Yahoo Sports):
Reflecting on the six-game Finals loss, he said: “I would like to see what it would be like with everybody whole. We’ll get our chance again. The Lakers have the greatest player in the game today in LeBron [James] and Anthony Davis.
“They beat us fair and squarely. But there will be always be that asterisk; if we had Bam and Goran 100 percent – Goran was our leading scorer [entering the Finals] – it might have gone to a seventh game.”
According to Tim Reynolds of Associated Press, Riley came out to correct the “misinterpretation” around the Lakers’ title win validity.
“The asterisk is next to the Heat’s name, not the Lakers. Their title is legitimate. Our loss has an asterisk (next) to it. The Lakers were the better team. Period.”
