NBA News Update: LA Lakers worst-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic with the 2020 champions taking a $52.7 million loss

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2020 NBA Finals - Game Six

Despite their success in the 2020 Orlando bubble, the NBA Playoffs TV ratings took a huge dip this year. The average TV viewership during the two Conference Finals and the NBA Finals between the LA Lakers and the Miami Heat hit an all-time low compared to that of previous years. In a recent NBA news update, the loss endured by teams due to the fewer games they played due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been revealed.

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NBA News Update: LA Lakers endured the highest loss among all teams during the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Fans celebrate in Los Angeles after the LA Lakers' win in the 2020 NBA Finals.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019-20 NBA regular season was suspended in March 2020. Even though the league later restarted inside the Orlando bubble, the season was a shortened one, and teams ended up playing fewer regular-season games compared to that in previous seasons.

The Lakers lost $57.2 million because they had to forgo 10 home games due to the pandemic according to the @TheAthletic. Most in the NBA pic.twitter.com/XFZ32QImZT

— Laker Central 🎙🎧🎥📝 (@LakerCentral365) October 19, 2020

According to an NBA news update, the LA Lakers lost a whopping $52.7 million in 2020 because of as many as ten home games at the Staples Center getting canceled due to the pandemic. In this regard, the New York Knicks suffered the second-highest loss ($45 million) followed by the Golden State Warriors ($42.5 million).

This development comes at a time when the NBA is trying to come up with a plan for the next season amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With the NBA already looking to bring back fans to the arena in 2021, the report about the LA Lakers' loss could only hasten such plans.

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NBA News Update: LA Lakers legend Kobe Bryant honored by NMAAHC

Fans celebrate in Los Angeles after LA Lakers' win in the 2020 NBA Finals.

In other NBA news update, the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington has honored LA Lakers legend Kobe Bryant by displaying his number 24 jersey.

For the transformative effect he had on the sport of basketball and on American culture more broadly, Kobe Bryant will be remembered with a new display at the Smithsonian Institution‘s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington https://t.co/AtS4o9mEk3

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) October 19, 2020

The display features Kobe Bryant's LA Lakers jersey that he wore during the 2008 NBA Finals. Speaking about the deceased player's importance to the African American community, the Museum's sports curator Damion Thomas said:

“We wanted to be able to share his impact. It really is about the cultural significance of basketball as an expression of the African American fight for greater rights."

It's also worth noting in this regard that Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa had made a donation of $1 million to the museum during its construction.

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