It was announced on Dec. 11 that the Los Angeles Lakers were going to unveil a banner for the team winning the NBA’s In-Season Tournament before their game against the New York Knicks on Monday.
There was some reported skepticism from those part of the organization due to the Lakers previously hanging banners solely for championships. The purple and gold do not have banners for division or conference championships, only for winning the Larry O’Brien trophy. However, the tournament banner was expected to be unique in color and shape, so it did not come off as idolizing it as a championship banner.
While the NBA Cup will not stack up as an actual championship, it is still something to be celebrated as the Lakers are the first team to win the tournament. The banner was indeed unveiled in a fun ceremony ahead of the game against the Knicks, cementing another accomplishment for a historic franchise:
#Lakers In-Season Tournament banner is up: pic.twitter.com/IeHk7VEryD
— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) December 19, 2023
As expected, the In-Season Tournament banner was a different shape and color than the traditional championship banners, as the base color is black with yellow text and accents. It is a sleek and clean design that features the NBA Cup with the year 2023 to the left of the trophy. If the Lakers win more In-Season Tournaments in the future, the year they win will just be added to this banner as opposed to unveiling new ones.
It became clear early into group play that LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the entire team were motivated to win the tournament. The team’s play truly went up a notch, ultimately finishing with a 7-0 record when it was all said and done. James and Davis were honored as well before Monday’s game as both of them were named All-Tournament team along with Tyrese Haliburton, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant.
Davis played in all seven games, averaging 23.3 points, 14.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.9, while James averaged 26.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 1.6 steals. While it remains unclear how much weight the NBA Cup will hold due to this tournament still being a new idea, teams seemed motivated to win it and the Lakers will defend their title at the beginning of the 2024-25 season.
Anthony Davis thinks Lakers raising In-Season Tournament banner is ‘pretty cool’
With the Lakers having their eyes on getting championship No. 18, being the first team to win the In-Season Tournament is historic and fits with the prestige of the L.A. franchise. The entire Lakers team wanted to win this tournament, especially with the $500,000 cash prize, which is a nice quality payday. Now that a banner is up in the rafters to commemorate this accomplishment, Davis believes that it is a ‘pretty cool’ to celebrated being the first-ever NBA Cup winners.
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