The 2020 NBA Finals are officially set, and for the first time the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat will square off for a chance to lift the Larry O'Brien trophy. This is the first Finals appearance for the Lakers since 2010, when they were led by Kobe Bryant. The Heat are back for the first time since 2014 when Lakers superstar LeBron James was Miami's top option.
Here's a look at the full schedule for the Finals matchup between the Lakers and Heat.
2020 NBA Finals schedule
- Game 1: Heat at Lakers - Wednesday, Sept. 30, 9 p.m. ET | TV: ABC
- Game 2: Heat at Lakers - Friday, Oct. 2, 9 p.m. ET | TV: ABC
- Game 3: Lakers at Heat - Sunday, Oct. 4, 7:30 p.m. ET | TV: ABC
- Game 4: Lakers at Heat - Tuesday, Oct. 6, 9 p.m. ET | TV: ABC
- Game 5*: Heat at Lakers - Friday, Oct. 9, 9 p.m. ET | TV: ABC
- Game 6*: Lakers at Heat - Sunday, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m. ET | TV: ABC
- Game 7*: Heat at Lakers - Tuesday, Oct. 13, 9 p.m. ET | TV: ABC
*If necessary
The Lakers and Heat have both played excellent basketball since the onset of the postseason, and both have lost just three total games during their current playoff run. The Heat swept the Indiana Pacers in the first round, took down the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in five games in the semifinals and knocked out the Boston Celtics in six games in the conference finals. The Lakers needed just five games in each series to advance past the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, and Denver Nuggets, respectively.
While the Lakers and Heat have never faced off against each other in the Finals, there are some clear links between the two teams, the most obvious being LeBron, who played for the Heat from 2010 to 2014 and led the franchise to two NBA titles. Then there's Heat president Pat Riley, who won five championships with the Lakers as both a player and a coach. Let's also not forget about Dion Waiters, who started the season on the Heat but was traded away from Miami in February and ultimately picked up by L.A.
The Lakers went 2-0 against the Heat during the regular season, though both of those games came before Christmas, so those results must be taken with a grain of salt as both teams are much different than they were last December.
