The Lakers celebrate their win in the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament with a lowly banner.
ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers have celebrated their undefeated run to the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament championship by hanging a modest black banner at their downtown arena.
The Lakers unveiled the black-and-gold banner on Monday night prior to their game against the Knicks, nestled next to the team’s 17 NBA championship banners. After winning the tournament title in Las Vegas on December 9, Los Angeles suffered its third defeat in four games when it fell to New York 114-109.
The Lakers’ fans applauded politely as they halted their pregame warmups for a quick tribute video and an NBA Cup celebration. Before the banner was unfurled to further applause, no one spoke to the assembly.
LeBron James, who recorded his 109th career triple-double in the defeat, said, “I think it was awesome.” “I think it’s pretty cool to acknowledge wins throughout a marathon,” the speaker said. That is the initial one. That’s its inauguration, so those of our fans who were unable to join us in Vegas now have the chance to virtually join us in celebrating this special moment. This is something that will undoubtedly endure forever.
Nine days after defeating Indiana to win the championship, the Lakers purposely kept their celebrations low-key. The decorated team is renowned for not hanging banners honoring division or conference winners, and it has only retired the Hall of Fame players’ uniform numbers.
However, the Lakers ultimately came to the conclusion that the tournament victory merits praise in addition to the $500,000 given to each player. In the tournament, Los Angeles won 7-0, and James gave incredible performances all along the way.
The five horizontal banners that honor the Minneapolis Lakers’ championships prior to their West Coast relocation are situated close to the new vertical In-Season Tournament banner. The arena’s north wall is still dominated by the twelve golden, horizontal title banners that were won in Los Angeles.
Regarding the new banner, Anthony Davis stated, “I think it’s a cool thing.” “(The competition) needs to happen continuously now. Three or four years cannot pass before it ends, as at that point it would be like, “Okay, so you have a banner for what?” In my opinion, it’s cool if it’s something that will last for years to come, and if other teams win, I believe they would follow suit.
Since the tournament final, the Lakers have gone 1-3, and the Pacers have gone 1-4. But Davis disagreed with the idea of having a hangover after a tournament.
Davis remarked, “We’re not losing by 20.” “We play in every match. We’re playing hard, fighting, and competing. What do they call that, I don’t think it is? When you start the next season, is that the little championship high you’re on? The hangover from the championship? It’s not one of those, in my opinion.
