LeBron James and the Lakers aim to finish off the Heat in Game 5 of the NBA Finals as Los Angeles teammates wear Kobe Bryant-designed 'Black Mamba' jerseys to honor the franchise icon

The Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat have tipped off Game 5 of the NBA Finals, with LeBron James & Co. needing only one win to clinch a league record-tying 17th championship.

But while James and the Lakers are no strangers to the spotlight, their current stage is a major departure from any previous trips to the Finals, which are traditionally played at the beginning of June in front of a partisan, sold-out arena of screaming fans.

NBA TITLES BY TEAM 

These Finals, played in October following a four-month pandemic hiatus, are taking place in a near-empty arena inside the league's COVID-resistant bubble at Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports campus near Orlando. 

Instead of fans, the two teams were surrounded by a small crowd of friends and family, who remained masked and socially distanced to adhere to strict league guidelines that appear to have held up amid the surrounding pandemic. Unlike the NFL and Major League Baseball, leagues that went without bubbles and subsequently were forced to postpone several games due to infections, the NBA has remained more or less COVID-free in Florida.

Players have social justice messages emblazoned on their jerseys in response to the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd on May 25. Nearly all the Heat and Lakers knelt in protest of racism during the national anthem before Friday's game, as most teams have throughout the NBA's stay at Disney. 

The black jerseys worn by the Lakers on Friday aren't new, but the meaning behind them is. 

Kobe Bryant, who won five titles as a Laker, died in a helicopter crash in January alongside his 12-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others. The uniforms, dubbed the 'Black Mamba' jerseys after Bryant's nickname, were designed by the franchise icon years earlier and have proven to be a good luck charm for the Lakers during the 2020 postseason.

Taken together, these new wrinkles are a good illustration of what the NBA has endured in what can only be described as the most turbulent season in league history. 

Players have social justice messages emblazoned on their jerseys in response to the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd on May 25. Many knelt in protest of racism during the national anthem before the game, as they have throughout the NBA's stay at Disney. In this shot from Friday, LeBron James points to the sky during 'The Star-Spangled Banner'

The black jerseys worn by the Lakers on Friday aren't new, but the meaning behind them is. Kobe Bryant, who won five titles as a Laker, died in a helicopter crash in January alongside his 12-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others. The uniforms, dubbed the 'Black Mamba' jerseys after Bryant's nickname, were designed by the franchise icon years earlier and have proven to be a good luck charm for the Lakers during the 2020 postseason

Lakers icon Kobe Bryant , his daughter Gianna , and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash on January 26

Miami's Game 3 hero, Jimmy Butler, smiles ahead of Game 5 against Los Angeles on Friday night at Disney World in Florida 

The NBA Finals - and the longest season in league history, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic and 4-1/2 month shutdown that followed - could end on Friday night, with James and the Lakers going into Game 5 with a 3-1 series lead over the Miami Heat. The Heat are simply looking for a way to extend this matchup into a Game 6 that would be played on Sunday, while James is looking for his fourth ring and, he thinks, a whole new level of respect from L.A. fans. 

'What I've learned being a Laker is that the Laker faithful don't give a damn what you've done before,' James said before Friday's game. '... They don't care about your resume at all until you become a Laker. You've got to do it as a Laker, and then they respect you.'

James is 3-0 in finals close-out opportunities, and 3-1 leads in the title series are almost always turned into trophies. The exception was in 2016, when James led Cleveland back from 3-1 down against Golden State.

The Heat know all this. They don't seem bothered.

'Our guys are the ones who are out there in the arena marred by dust, blood, sweat and tears,' Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. 'Our guys are the ones out there - 28 other teams aren't out there. Everybody else is basically on their comfortable couches spectating on this one. Our guys are the ones that are in the arena, and that's right where they are meant to be.'

Some of that was Spoelstra quoting Theodore Roosevelt's famed 1910 speech titled 'Citizenship in a Republic,' which over time has become better known as 'The Man in the Arena.' It's one of James' favorites as well, even getting cited by him earlier in these NBA Finals.

'We've got a chance,' Heat center Bam Adebayo said. 'We still believe. They're writing us off. Everybody is doubting us. But as long as the people in the locker room and all our coaching staff have belief in us, that's all that matters.'

The NBA became the first league to pause its season amid the coronavirus pandemic back on March 11. The league restarted in late July in a bubble on the ESPN Wide World of Sports campus at Disney World in Orlando, Florida

FOR KOBE: CURRENT LAKERS HONOR BRYANT BY WEARING THE 'BLACK MAMBA' JERSEY HE DESIGNED

The Mamba jerseys are back for a closeout opportunity.

The Los Angeles Lakers are wearing the black jerseys with a snakeskin look — all designed by Kobe Bryant and now worn by the team in his honor — for Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Friday night.

The original schedule, released before the finals, called for the Lakers to wear purple jerseys in Game 5. The black jerseys were to be worn in Games 2 and 7; if this series goes seven, the Mamba jerseys are slated to return.

'Until you get your hands on them, you don't get to see the detail in them. It's super-duper detailed,' the Lakers' LeBron James said. 'It has that snake Mamba print on it. It means something. Something more than just a uniform. It represents an individual who gave the franchise 20 years of his blood, sweat and tears and his dedication to his craft, both on and off the floor, to make that franchise be proud of him, and hopefully vice versa.'  

LeBron James and Anthony Davis shake hands while wearing their Black Mamba jerseys

LeBron James and Kobe Bryant won a pair of gold medals together on Team USA

Lebron James and Quinn Cook cry during the Los Angeles Lakers pregame ceremony to honor Kobe Bryant before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center on January 31

'We never want to lose in these jerseys,' Lakers forward Anthony Davis said prior to Game 2. 

Nobody wants to lose in any jersey, of course, but the Lakers would feel like they're letting Bryant down if they happened to fall short in that uniform. The tribute jersey is just one of many ways that Bryant's fingerprints are all over these NBA Finals between the Lakers and Miami Heat. It's the league's first title series since Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash on January 26.

Anthony Davis grabs a rebound while wearing his Black Mamba Lakers jersey

It's no secret: This playoff run by the Lakers is with Bryant constantly in mind.

'They've got something special that they want to do. You can't deny that,' Heat center Bam Adebayo said. 'It's not shocking that he passes away and that becomes their motivation to win the NBA championship and be in the finals. It's not weird at all. I want to win and do it for Kobe too ... so I understand.' 

Bryant is the player that Adebayo grew up idolizing. His favorite souvenir from All-Star weekend wasn't his skills competition championship trophy, but the Bryant jersey that all the players received. His favorite sneakers aren't just the Kobe 5's — but the purple and gold Kobe 5's, Lakers colors. So, he understands why this Lakers team is motivated to win in Bryant's memory.

'It still doesn't feel real to this day,' Adebayo said. 'But you see the effect that he had on the world.'

Many of the Lakers wear Bryant's signature sneakers for games, and assistant coach Jason Kidd often wears them as well. At least four members of the Heat -- Adebayo, Andre Iguodala, Solomon Hill and Jae Crowder -- typically wear Kobe sneakers as well.

Bryant won five titles with the Lakers, the last of those coming in 2010. Until now, the Lakers hadn't been back to the finals since. Now, they're a win away from a 17th championship in franchise history, which would tie the Boston Celtics for the most ever.

Bryant would have loved that, of course.

'It's hard not to think about him, whether you're a part of this organization or not,' Lakers guard Danny Green said. 'He's always going to impact the game and have a presence, especially for us.'

More than eight months have passed since Bryant's death. The Lakers' tributes have not faded or slowed down in that time.

Although James declined to say whether he attended Monday's memorial service at Staples Center (he was not photographed at the event), James did deliver a heartfelt speech before the Lakers first game back at their home arena on January 31

As Anthony Davis told ESPN, there was an urgency to get off the plane and see loved ones 

The Lakers break huddles by yelling 'one, two, three, Mamba!' A patch with the initials 'KB' adorns some of their jerseys now, a '2' for Gianna Bryant is affixed to some others. A Kobe Bryant credo — 'Leave a Legacy' — has become the team's marketing slogan and rallying cry for these playoffs. He helped Nike design the jerseys about three years ago, coming up with the snakeskin-texture idea himself, the obvious nod to his Mamba nickname.

The Lakers are 3-0 in those jerseys so far in these playoffs, including a win over Portland on August 24 — 8/24, the two numbers that Bryant wore in his career with the purple and gold.

The score at one point that night was Lakers 24, Blazers 8.

'When I looked up there and saw 24-8, I was like, 'OK, he's here in the building,' Lakers forward LeBron James said.

The postgame routine in the NBA's season-restart bubble at Walt Disney World is different than what it was before the pandemic struck. There are no showers at the arena, so players leave the floor, change out of their uniform into usually a T-shirt and shorts, then head back to their hotel to get cleaned up.

That is, except on that night in the Mamba jerseys against the Blazers. Davis didn't want to take his jersey off that night. And when Davis hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals against Denver, the Lakers just happened to be in the Mamba jersey.

'He's a guy that especially in this organization we'll always think of,' Green said. 'Not just myself and my teammates, but everybody throughout the league. Any time they step on the floor, they represent the guys that came before us, and he was one of those pioneers that was amazingly great in everything he did on and off the floor.'

(Source: AP)

Current Lakers center Dwight Howard played alongside Bryant during a previous stint in LA

The Heat fell apart in Game 1 of the series, not coincidentally in a game where they lost point guard Goran Dragic in the first half to a torn left plantar fascia and Adebayo later to a neck strain. The Lakers rolled to the 1-0 series lead, but since then, matters have been far closer: In games 2-4, the Lakers have outscored Miami by just five points, the Heat have gone 6-5-1 in the 12 quarters played.

'To me, this series is far from over,' Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. 'We've got a lot of work to do. This is a great basketball team that we're playing, and my focus is solely on all the little details that go into what we have to do to get one more win.'

Though Vogel isn't looking past the next game, making logistical plans for the end of the series and the closing of the bubble is really nothing more than common sense.

There will be a trophy ceremony when the series ends; it may be possible that the ownership group from the winning team will be permitted on the floor even though they've been outside 'the bubble' this whole time. On Saturday, or Monday, or Wednesday at the latest, those who remain in the bubble will leave because the series will have ended the night before. Disney plans on reopening the Coronado Springs resort - essentially bubble headquarters - on October 15.

The Lakers are trying to keep themselves grounded, even with the knowledge that they're one win away from rings.

'I think we all know that tomorrow night is also a must-win for us, just as much as it is a must-win for the Heat,' Lakers forward Anthony Davis said.

It isn't, but Davis' point is clear. The Lakers will aim to head into Friday night with the same desperation that Miami will have while facing elimination.

Jimmy Butler, Miami's leading scorer and best player by far in the series, said he'll set the Heat example for Game 5 by demanding more of everything from himself.

'I've got to be able to do a lot more,' Butler said. 'I've got to be able to set the tone from the jump, play with the most energy I've ever played with for these next three games, and win. That's what I've got to do: Win.'  

Current NBA commissioner Adam Silver pictured alongside his former boss, David Stern, who passed away in January at 77

The joke in NBA circles is that the real MVP this season wasn't the Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo, who won the award for a second consecutive year, but rather the Disney World bubble.  

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver acknowledges that he had doubts if this was even possible. So did many players. Racial injustice protests were happening around the country and coronavirus positivity rates were skyrocketing in Florida when the NBA moved into Walt Disney World - the league calls it a campus, everyone else calls it a bubble - three months ago. It wasn't a stretch to think it was only a matter of time before trouble started.

Never happened. The NBA got the games in and kept the virus out. Players managed to find a balance between what they felt were their basketball obligations and social responsibilities.

This season, a year that was longer than a year and difficult in almost every imaginable way, is nearing an end; the Los Angeles Lakers have a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals over the Miami Heat, with a potential title-clincher in Game 5 coming Friday night.

NBA 2019-2020 SEASON TIMELINE 

The NBA is capping off what has been the most turbulent campaign in league history. Here is a brief synopsis of the last 12 months: 

'The job's not done,' James said.

He's right, on many levels. The NBA came here to crown a champion; that hasn't happened yet. Players came here to use their platform to fight against racial inequality and voter suppression; those efforts continue. And the coronavirus pandemic rages on; no end in sight there, either.

Outside the bubble, problems reign.

Inside the bubble, things are not perfect. It has not been easy. Often, it was not fun.

But it worked.

'I wanted everybody to have perspective on how difficult this is, how extraordinary of an experience all of this is,' Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. 'Being part of this bubble, being here for 80-plus days, surviving all of it and earning the right to compete for an NBA title.'

When the Lakers got to Lake Buena Vista, there were 22 teams in the bubble - more than 1,300 people in all, teams living in three different hotels, crossing paths at times. Social distance guidelines and protocols are followed and people are tested daily.

Though there is no retreating to familiar surroundings to escape setbacks, failures on the court or to go recharge their batteries, players are able to talk about their top priority: social justice. They talk about affecting change. White players talk about why it matters; Black players do the same, some at every opportunity.

Only two teams remain, and they're still talking about the same things. Heat All-Star Bam Adebayo ends every media session the same way: 'Black Lives Matter, people.' He says it because he believes America still needs that reminder.

'What's important to our players is important to us, but it wasn't just our players,' Silver said. 'The players know, and the NBA community knows, there is a long history in this league of fighting for social justice, for racial equality. And it seemed appropriate.'

They put Black Lives Matter on the courts. They put it on jerseys. When players felt the message wasn't getting through, they shut down play - stopping for three days during the playoffs. Some players were willing to go home to make the ultimate statement. Things nearly came apart in a three-hour meeting.

'I will go to my grave not forgetting a single second of that meeting with the players,' National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts said. 'Watching them and their passion, not simply 'here's an excuse to go home because no one was loving the bubble,' but their passion and desire to talk about whether or not they were doing the right thing, how they could do something. They wanted to roar and they wanted to know if they were roaring from the right mountain.'

They feel they have made some progress. Key word: some. Most of the league's eligible players are now registered to vote; that was far from being the case three months ago. More than half of the league's arenas are going to be voting sites or were involved in the process through registration drives.

'For many of these players, this is the most amount of time that they've ever not played organized basketball,' NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said as the season was restarting. 'Then to come back into camp, to play in this environment that no one has ever done before, and then to go out, play with no fans, live fans, in the arena, the champion will be a true champion because they will have had to overcome so much adversity to get to that finish line.'

Still, many unknowns remain.

The coronavirus led to a 4 1/2-month hiatus and disrupted this season, cost the league and its players hundreds of millions of dollars and cost plenty who work in and around the NBA jobs. Make no mistake, there will be fingerprints of the virus on next season in countless ways as well.

The demand-for-change messaging will continue next season, whenever it starts and wherever it happens. The league wants to be in arenas again, with fans, though nobody knows if that'll happen. Another bubble remains a possibility in some shape or form.

But for now, laud this NBA bubble before it closes. It did its job. It saved the season.

NBA RETURNS TO CHINA AFTER YEARLONG ABSENCE DUE TO ROCKETS GENERAL MANAGER DARL MOREY'S TWEET SUPPORTING PROTESTORS IN HONG KONG

The NBA is returning to Chinese state television after a one-year absence.

CCTV announced Friday that it would air Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat - the first time that the league would appear on the network since the rift that started when Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted support for anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.

State television made an on-air announcement that the game would be broadcast; the network's web site had a preview of the game, including a photo of the Lakers' LeBron James and Miami's Jimmy Butler.

'In the Chinese National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival that just passed, the NBA expressed holiday blessings to Chinese fans,' the China Media Group, essentially the operator of CCTV, said in a statement. 'We have also noticed the goodwill continuously expressed by the NBA for some time. Especially since the beginning of this year, the NBA has made active efforts in supporting the Chinese people in fighting against the novel coronavirus epidemic.'

Rockets' GM Daryl Morey apologized for the tweet he swiftly deleted  that included an image of the activists' rally cry: 'Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong' 

CCTV quickly halted its relationship with the NBA after Morey's tweet, even though the post was quickly deleted. Given the timing, it appears the suspension of NBA coverage by that network was designed to last one year; CCTV announced on Oct. 8, 2019, that it was beginning an immediate investigation into its relationship with the NBA, stemming from the network being 'strongly dissatisfied' over the league's decision to not sanction Morey.

The NBA did not have an immediate comment to CCTV's decision. 

NBA games have been available to Chinese fans on the streaming service Tencent, another of the league's broadcast partners. But the relationship between the league and China could be best categorized as frosty since the tweet, with only some slight hints of reconciliation.

NBA legend and Chinese Basketball Association President Yao Ming did come to the U.S. to attend the memorial service for commissioner emeritus David Stern in January, a move viewed by some as one that showed there was hope for the league and China to mend fences. More hope came in February, when the NBA sent more than $1 million in medical supplies to China to assist coronavirus relief efforts there. The Chinese publicly thanked the NBA for that gesture.

Rockets GM Daryl Morey apologized for the now-deleted tweet in support of the Hong Kong protests. The league didn't apologize for Morey's tweet, but commissioner Adam Silver was criticized for his alleged kowtowing to China, a $4 billion market for the NBA

But the fallout after the tweet last year was quick and massive. Sponsors - following CCTV's lead - pulled their backing of the NBA China Games between the Lakers and Brooklyn Nets; the preseason games were played, though no news conferences were held and most events surrounding the games in the basketball-mad nation were canceled as well.

At All-Star weekend this year, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said it was possible the league could lose as much as $400 million in revenue this year because of the strained relationship with the Chinese.

And that estimate preceded the costly shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, another massive financial blow that forced the league to cancel about 15 percent of its remaining regular-season games. The league wound up salvaging the season by moving into a bubble at Walt Disney World, yet another big expense for games that took place without fans present - meaning no ticket, concession or souvenir revenue.

(Source: AP)

Demonstrators set a Lebron James jersey on fire during a rally at the Southorn Playground in Hong Kong on October 15, 2019. CCTV has not shown an NBA game since last October