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Due to the unusual circumstances the NBA will be resuming under, there will be no such things as home court advantage for the top seeds in the Eastern and Western Conferences this season. However, it appears the NBA is still rewarding teams with the best records in the league.
How? You may ask. Hotels, of course.
Earlier this month, Dave McMenamin of ESPN reported that the NBA’s top-seeded teams had proposed that they get their choice of hotel at Walt Disney World, and it seems that, in true Disney fashion, their wish has been granted. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the hotels that each team will stay it will depend on where they’re seeded in the standings.
Sources: NBA teams Disney hotels based on seeding:
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 16, 2020
-Grand Destino: Bucks, Lakers, Raptors, Clippers, Celtics, Nuggets, Jazz, Heat
-Grand Floridian: Thunder, 76ers, Rockets, Pacers, Mavericks, Nets, Grizzlies, Magic
-Yacht Club: Blazers, Kings, Pelicans, Spurs, Suns, Wizards
In NBA's ORL campus:
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 16, 2020
- Hotel amenities: players-only lounge (NBA 2K, TVs, gaming), pool/trails, barbers, manicurists, pedicurists
- 24-hour VIP concierge
- Daily entertainment: Movie screenings, DJ sets, video games, ping pong, pool, lawn games
- Players can attend other games
The Los Angeles Lakers will stay at the Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. The tower, which opened last year, is an extension of Disney’s Coronado Springs 2,385 room-resort.
The Gran Destino Tower 15 stories high, has 545 rooms sand borders Lago Dorado, or “Golden Lake.” The tower also features a rooftop bar and a massive aquatic area inspired by the Mayan ruins.
In layman’s terms, it’s really big and nice.
There’s no real competitive edge to the Lakers staying at the Grand Destino as opposed to the Grand Floridan or the Yacht Club, but we can all agree it’s objectively hilarious that the league and the team’s owners agreed to this. Like, I can already picture LeBron James dubbing the Lakers “The Destinos” as a way to symbolize their destiny of winning a championship, or something. You know LeBron loves his corny nicknames!
There’s also the potential for some foul player between the NBA’s contenders. For example, Anthony Davis could theoretically set off the fire alarm on the floor that the Clippers are staying on, or persuade someone to give Giannis Antetokounmpo a blanket that’s too small for his body.
I’m not saying he should! — I’m just saying the environment makes it possible.
Teams will report to their hotels in Orlando on July, according to Charania. We’ll see how much these hotels shake up the competition when the time comes.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @RadRivas