The Boston Celtics dispatched the Dallas Mavericks in five games during the 2024 NBA Finals, winning their 18th title in franchise history and breaking the tie with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers previously tied the Celtics after winning the 2020 NBA Championship in The Bubble, but now find themselves trailing their archrivals in championships yet again. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, the path back to the Finals will only get more difficult as there are several teams worthy of being called contenders in the Western Conference.
Making matters worse is the Lakers will be in search of the same kinds of players that were on their 2019-20 roster to help them get back to the top. That squad was great both on and off the floor as they had natural chemistry and complementary skillsets next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
While Los Angeles likely regrets breaking up their title team, it hasn’t stopped some of its players from reuniting as Dwight Howard, DeMarcus Cousins and Quinn Cook are set to team up in the upcoming Asian Tournament, via Shams Charania of The Athletic:
2020 Lakers reunion: DeMarcus Cousins, Dwight Howard and Quinn Cook will play together on the Taiwan Mustags in the Asian Tournament in July, sources say. Howard serves as a player and part-owner of the Taiwan league.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 18, 2024
Howard previously announced his ownership stake in the Asian league, marking the first time a player has ever owned a piece of the league they are currently playing in. Howard also expressed his desire to have other former NBA players join him overseas in Taiwan and he’s getting his wish as his former teammates will join him in their quest to win a championship.
This is an unprecedented event in the basketball world for three NBA players to team up like this, but Howard has been nearly hell-bent on bringing more basketball to places like Taiwan. With Howard, Cousins and Cook on the same team, the Taiwan Mustangs have to be considered favorites to win it all.
Dwight Howard believes Lakers would have three-peated if 2020 team didn’t split up
As the Lakers approach free agency, they’ve been linked to several of their former players either via trade or free agency. It goes to show that Los Angeles had the ingredients to win a title all along which lends even more credence to Dwight Howard’s idea that they could have potentially three-peated had their group never split up.
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