Miami Heat forward LeBron James doesn’t think this year’s NBA champion should have an asterisk attached to their season because of the lockout, according to ESPN.com.  Read more after the jump.
“I don’t think that’s right to say,†James said. “I’m not going to get involved in it. Every team works hard no matter if it’s a lockout year or not. There’s not much of a difference between 82 games and 66 games.â€
The NBA had to cut its regular season to 66 games instead of 82, and there is talk that this season will have a stigma attached to it like the last lockout season in 1998-99, when San Antonio won the championship, according to ESPN.com.
“I don’t discredit the effort San Antonio had when they won it in ’99 after the lockout,†James said. “We all know Gregg Popovich is an unbelievable coach and Tim Duncan is an unbelievable player. It shouldn’t matter. They won multiple (titles) after that so are we going to say that first one wasn’t good enough? I don’t think that’s true at all.â€
James and the Heat are one of the favorites to win this year’s championship and currently lead the New York Knicks 3-0 in their first round series.
