On the 356th day of the NBA's 74th season, the Lakers won their 17th championship, vanquishing the Heat inside a Disney World bubble that staged 172 games over three months without a single positive coronavirus test.

• LeBron James has changed teams three times in his career, and each time, he won a championship within two seasons. What he's done is "something more than dominance. It's authorship," writes The Ringer's Rob Mahoney.

• Anthony Davis was unstoppable in the Finals (25.0 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 57.5 FG%, 42.1 3PT%, 93.7 FT%) and anchored L.A.'s suffocating defense.
• The Heat leave the bubble with their heads held high. Jimmy Butler became his fully-realized self this summer, and Erik Spoelstra — who spent 30 seconds wiping away tears postgame — reminded us why he's a legend.

By the numbers:

• The Lakers and Celtics are now tied for the third-most major North American sports titles (17), trailing the Yankees (27) and Canadiens (24).
• Counting Anaheim, the greater Los Angeles area has 23 major sports championships, fourth-most behind New York, Boston and Chicago.
• Since the end of the Bulls dynasty in 1998, the Western Conference has ruled the NBA, winning 15 out of 22 NBA Finals.

The backdrop: It's been nearly nine months since Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others died in a helicopter crash. The "Mamba Mentality" guided the Lakers the rest of the season and became a rallying cry throughout L.A.

"This is for [Kobe] ... Before the tragedy, he would come to the games and tell us, 'This is your year. Go out there and take it.'"

What's next: The MJ-LeBron debates will rage on, but remember — James is far from finished. Davis will likely sign a five-year extension this summer, and L.A. can bring back its core group on one-year deals and still have $30M+ in cap space ahead of the 2021 offseason.

Coming up this week:

• Tomorrow: Tales from the bubble
• Wednesday: Basketball and politics
• Thursday: NBA mock draft
• Friday: Offseason primer

Go deeper:

• Read: These Lakers made it through every moment that could have broken them (ESPN)
• Watch: AD is officially LeBron's best teammate (YouTube)

The NFL's postponement of Week 5's Broncos vs. Patriots matchup has shifted the dates of eight games involving seven teams, creating the season's first true scheduling puzzle, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes.

Where it stands: An 18th week of the regular season is reportedly "in play," but the league wants it to be a last resort. Here are the current adjustments:

• Broncos at Patriots: Week 5 → Week 6
• Chiefs at Bills: Week 6 (Thursday) → Week 6 (Monday)
• Jets at Dolphins: Week 10 → Week 6
• Jets at Chargers: Week 6 → Week 11
• Jaguars at Chargers: Week 8 → Week 7
• Chargers at Broncos: Week 11 → Week 8
• Chargers at Dolphins: Week 7 → Week 10
• Dolphins at Broncos: Week 6 → Week 11

The backdrop: The NFL managing this mess while the NBA wraps up its flawless bubble makes for an obvious comparison, but it's not particularly apt given the vast differences between the two leagues.

• Too many people: The NBA's expanded bubble rosters topped out at around 18 players, and only 22 teams made the trip. NFL rosters are about three times that size, staffs are much bigger and all 32 teams would have participated.
• Full season: It was challenging enough for the NBA to pull off a three-month bubble; the NFL was staring at a full, five-month season.
• Game frequency: The NBA fit all its games on a handful of courts with teams playing a few times a week, but NFL teams can't realistically play more than once every five to six days.
• Add it all up, and unless you know of a facility with 10–15 NFL-grade football fields and lodging for 5,000 people, the single-site bubble was never an option.

Yes, but: While an NBA-style bubble was out of the question, market bubbles (teams living in hotels in home cities) or multiple bubbles (similar to the NHL but with more sites) were both feasible, so it's not like the NFL didn't have options.

• The league went a different route, ultimately deciding that the non-bubble approach would suffice as long as it remained "flexible and adaptable," chief medical officer Allen Sills told Axios in June.

The bottom line: Sills has repeatedly said the NFL expected positive cases, and the league's protocol was formulated merely to contain the spread. That sounded much better before watching it play out in real time.

Major League Baseball clubs try not to tip their financials, thus giving them better leverage when negotiating new players contracts or new stadium deals. But that might be about to change, Axios' Dan Primack writes.

Driving the news: Fenway Sports Group, whose assets include the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool FC, is in advanced talks to sell a minority stake to Redball Acquisition.

• Redball is a blank check company formed earlier this year by "Moneyball" maven Billy Beane and private equity investor Gerry Cardinale.
• Their minority stake in FSG would become publicly-traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Details: Redball would acquire between 20% and 25% of FSG via the transaction, which would need to be approved by MLB, according to multiple sources.

• It would contribute the $575 million it raised via IPO earlier this year.
• The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the deal, pegged the FSG enterprise value at around $8 billion.

The backdrop: Hedge fund billionaire John Henry led a $700 million purchase of the Red Sox in 2001. Nearly a decade later, he paid £300 million for Liverpool, putting it under an umbrella that also includes a NASCAR team and regional sports network.

• The Red Sox have won four World Series titles during Henry's ownership, but just completed their most wretched year in decades.
• Liverpool recently won its first-ever English Premier League crown.
• In 2012, Henry tried hiring Billy Beane to be the Red Sox general manager, but was rebuffed.

The bottom line: If this deal goes through, expect it to open the stargate between SPACs and MLB teams, creating all sorts of new financial transparency.

ARLINGTON, Texas — There are times when sports feel unnecessarily cruel. That was the case Sunday when Dak Prescott, a universally beloved player who has overcome immense adversity, was carted off in tears.

• Prescott suffered a compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle that required surgery Sunday night. He's likely done for the year.
• Since Jerry Jones lowballed him this offseason, forcing him to play under the franchise tag, his big payday is now in jeopardy.
• What's next: Dallas enters the Andy Dalton era, which will be aided by a historically bad NFC East — a division the 2-3 Cowboys currently lead.

LANDOVER, Md. — 694 days after suffering a horrific leg injury that required 17 surgeries and threatened his life, Alex Smith returned to the field for Washington.

• Sadly, there were no fans at FedEx Field to give Smith the prolonged standing ovation he deserves.
• But his family was there to cheer him on in a near-empty stadium, which was perhaps an even more powerful image for Smith, who has repeatedly said his comeback is for his kids — to show them they can do anything in life.

More from Sunday (full scoreboard):

• The Raiders snapped the Chiefs' 13-game winning streak.
• The Falcons fired head coach Dan Quinn and GM Thomas Dimitroff.
• The Seahawks scored in the final seconds to beat the Vikings and start 5-0 for the first time in franchise history.
• The Texans won their first game under interim head coach Romeo Crennel, who at 73 is the oldest coach in NFL history (George Halas, 72).
• The Steelers improved to 4-0 for the first time in four decades, when they did it in 1978 and 1979 en route to back-to-back Super Bowls.

Tonight: Chargers at Saints (8:15pm ET, ESPN)

In front of sparse crowds, and with coronavirus cases surging across Europe, Rafael Nadal and Lewis Hamilton tied their sport's greatest competitors atop the all-time leaderboards.

PARIS — Rafael Nadal destroyed Novak Djokovic in the French Open final, winning in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2, 7-5, to equal Roger Federer's record of 20 Grand Slam titles.

• Wild stat: Sunday's final was Nadal's 100th win at Roland Garros, where his win-loss record now stands at 100-2.
• The backdrop: France broke a single-day record for most new coronavirus cases on Saturday (26,896) as the country grapples with a second wave.

NUERBURG, Germany — Even Lewis Hamilton once saw Michael Schumacher's record of 91 Formula 1 wins as unbeatable. Now he's matched it with a victory at the Eifel Grand Prix.

• By the numbers: Hamilton needed 261 starts to reach 91 wins, while Schumacher needed 247.
• The backdrop: Authorities have introduced curfews and restricted the sale of alcohol in Berlin and Frankfurt as cases surge in Germany.

Go deeper: Europe's coronavirus case counts just keep climbing (Axios)

No athlete is more connected to a playing surface than Nadal is to Roland Garros' red clay. 13 of his 20 Grand Slam titles have come there. Without Paris, he never becomes the legend he is today.

• 2020: French Open
• 2019: French Open, U.S. Open
• 2018: French Open
• 2017: French Open, U.S. Open
• 2014: French Open
• 2013: French Open, U.S. Open
• 2012: French Open
• 2011: French Open
• 2010: French Open, U.S. Open, Wimbledon
• 2009: Australian Open
• 2008: French Open, Wimbledon
• 2007: French Open
• 2006: French Open
• 2005: French Open

Nadal on Sunday:

"To win here means everything to me. It is not the moment, honestly, to think about ... equaling Roger's great number. For me, today is just a Roland Garros story. The love story I have with this city and this court is unforgettable."

Go deeper: Nadal deserves all the accolades of his 2020 French Open victory (ESPN)

Through six weeks of play, last year's national championship finalists are heading in very different directions, Jeff writes.

• Tigers up: Clemson retained the top spot in this week's AP poll after dominating Miami, 42-17, behind the stellar play of QB Trevor Lawrence (29/41, 292 yards, 3 TD) and RB Travis Etienne (222 total yards, 2 TD).
• Tigers down: LSU dropped out of the top 25 after losing to Missouri, 45-41, in a game that was moved from Baton Rouge to Columbia due to the arrival of Hurricane Delta. Last year's champs have given up 96 points in three games.

Elsewhere:

• Oklahoma 53, Texas 45 (4OT): The weirdest Red River Showdown game ever started ugly and finished as the highest-scoring game in the 120-year history of the rivalry. Texas still leads the all-time series (62-49-5).
• Alabama 63, Ole Miss 48: Nick Saban improved to 21-0 against his former assistants, but his defense looked porous in the process. Did the Rebels know the Tide's signals?
• Texas A&M 41, Florida 38: Jimbo Fisher finally picked up a marquee victory at Texas A&M, as the Aggies upset the Gators on a last-second field goal.

More scores: UNC 56, Virginia Tech 45; Georgia 44, Tennessee 21; Auburn 30, Arkansas 28; Notre Dame 42, FSU 26

The state of play: "A willingness to risk a superspreader event is now a competitive advantage," writes Defector's Lauren Theisen.

• The official attendance at Kyle Field for Texas A&M's upset win over Florida was 24,709.
• But fans weren't spread out, and the student section looked almost as packed as it would during normal times.

What they're saying: Florida coach Dan Mullen said the crowd was a "major factor" and called on his school's administration to allow full attendance (90,000 fans) next weekend in Gainesville, citing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' recent lifting of all stadium capacity restrictions.

"I know our governor passed that rule, so certainly, hopefully, the university administration decides to let us pack The Swamp for LSU next week."

📊 By the numbers:

• ⚾️ 43 days: Randy Arozarena didn't even play a game for the Rays until Aug. 30 (43 days ago). Now he's a star, leading them past the Yankees in the ALDS and homering Sunday as Tampa Bay beat Houston, 2-1, in Game 1 of the ALCS.
• ⚽️ 18 teams: A proposal engineered by Liverpool and Manchester United would yield an 18-team Premier League (down from 20) and hundreds of millions of dollars in payments to lower leagues.
• 🏒 9 years: The Taylor Hall sweepstakes ended in a place nobody expected: Buffalo (one-year, $8 million deal). Hall said his No. 1 priority is winning a title, yet the Sabres haven't made the playoffs since 2011 (longest NHL drought).

🎥 Watch:

• 🥊 Knockout of the year: Joaquin Buckley scored an all-time great knockout at UFC Fight Night, obliterating Impa Kasanganay with a spinning back kick.
• 🎾 The chat before the title: Five months ago, Naomi Osaka interviewed "rising Polish talent" Iga Świątek on Instagram Live. On Saturday, Świątek won the French Open.
• 🏈 Worst play in NFL history: This four-second clip from 1933 is remarkably bad.

Giphy

41 years ago today, Celtics guard Chris Ford sunk the first three-pointer in NBA history during the first quarter of a 114-106 win over the Rockets.

• Fun fact: The game also marked the debut of Celtics rookie Larry Bird.
• Of note: Ford later served as a head coach of the Celtics (1990–95), Bucks (1996–98), Clippers (1998–2000), and Sixers (2003–04).

The big picture: During the 1979-80 season, teams attempted 5,003 three-pointers. Last season, they attempted 72,252.

• 1979-80: 1,403-of-5,003 (28%)
• 1989-90: 4,829-of-14,608 (33.1%)
• 1999-2000: 11,513-of-32,614 (35.3%)
• 2009-10: 15,822-of-44,622 (35.4%)
• 2019-20: 25,862-of-72,252 (35.7%)

Go deeper: Three-pointers lead the sports analytics revolution (Axios)

LeBron James now has four NBA titles, most among active players.

• Question: Eight active players have three titles. Can you name them?
• Hint: LeBron has been teammates with three.

Answer at the bottom.

To celebrate National Book Month, we're highlighting one new sports book each day this week.

Jeff Pearlman's "Three-Ring Circus" chronicles the combustible Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O'Neal partnership that led the Lakers to a three-peat at the turn of the century (2000-02).

Highlights:

• The Nets almost drafted Kobe, but rookie coach John Calipari nixed it at the eleventh hour when Kobe's agent, Arn Tellem, told the Nets he "won't play for you" (even though he would have).
• Kobe and Shaq's relationship really was as rocky as the media portrayed it, and Kobe resented Shaq's standing as the team's alpha despite his relative lack of drive. "I ain't playing with that [MF] again," he said after the chaotic 2003-04 season.

Of note: Pearlman leaves no stone unturned regarding young Kobe's arrogance, as well as his sexual assault case from 2003, painting a fuller picture of a beloved but complicated man.

• "The Kobe Bryant of 1996 to 2004 is not the Kobe Bryant of 2005 to January 26, 2020,” Pearlman writes in an author's note included in the book.
• "He was not then the contemplative adult who raved of having four daughters. He was not then the doting husband. He was not then the Academy Award winner. He was not yet comfortable in his own skin."

Buy the book.