One of the main motivating factors for the players with the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament was the cash prize for the winning team. Whichever team came out on top and hoisted the NBA Cup would receive $500,000 for each player on the roster, and of course, that team was the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers didn’t lose a single game throughout the In-Season Tournament, going a perfect 4-0 in group play and then finishing things out in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena with a dominant victory over the New Orleans Pelicans in the semifinals and a hard fought win over the Indiana Pacers in the Championship.
And the players have already received that financial benefit for their tournament success. According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, the Lakers players received their $500,000 tournament winnings prior to the team’s recent contest against the San Antonio Spurs:
While Friday’s defeat at the Spurs that snapped an 18-game losing streak for San Antonio was a letdown, it came with a silver lining: That was the same day each L.A. player’s $500,000 in tournament winnings was deposited as a lump-sum payment in their accounts, sources told ESPN.
Getting a nice payment in your bank account surely takes some sting off of what was a rough loss that night in San Antonio. But overall, the Lakers have struggled mightily since winning that In-Season Tournament and need to figure out how to right the ship.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis have still been excellent, as has Austin Reaves off the bench. The rest of the team, however, has been inconsistent at best and the Lakers simply need to get consistent production from their role players.
While winning the In-Season Tournament was a great accomplishment, the time for celebration is over and the Lakers must get back focused on the regular season.
Reaves enjoyed In-Season Tournament win but now focused on winning championship
The Lakers raised a banner for their In-Season Tournament win, which the players definitely enjoyed. Austin Reaves can be included in that group although he emphasized that he is now focused on winning a championship.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s the first one, and it was cool,” Reaves said of the banner. “It was cool to be a part of winning that and that whole deal. But now that’s over, and we got to focus on the season and try to hang another one up at the end of the year.”
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