The NBA added the In-Season Tournament this season and it proved to be a massive success, likely becoming an integral part of the regular season for years to come. Despite some skepticism from fans and players, this tournament added incentive and allowed for players to play for something during the grind of an 82-game season.
With this being the first go around of the tournament, there was a historic aspect to it as whoever won the NBA Cup first would in essence leave a bit of a legacy. A team that wanted to be a part of history was the Los Angeles Lakers, who seemingly took their game to another level when partaking in a tournament game.
The Lakers would go undefeated, 7-0, beating the Indiana Pacers in the championship game and were easily the best team in every matchup. Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young believes that L.A. winning the In-Season Tournament was good for the league due to the organization’s popularity, via From The Point on Bleacher Report:
“Having the Lakers win it all is always gonna be great for the league. That’s a big brand, so them winning the first one is obviously great for the In-Season Tournament just from the competitive aspect. You can tell there’s just a different intensity just from those games to regular season games. And I think the league did a great job of making it a different feel and different vibe, the courts were different. Some were better than others, but I think they did a good job of making it a cool vibe and making a lot of people really interested.”
Some may disagree with this, but it makes sense due to the success that the Lakers have had as a franchise throughout the years. However, the In-Season Tournament does allow for a smaller market team like the Pacers to win something outside of a Larry O’Brien trophy, which makes it exciting.
The tournament allows for every team to compete and aspire to win an NBA Cup, which is good for the league. But for the Lakers to be the first team to win, it builds confidence for the team heading into the playoffs and winning title No. 18.
Young seems to be a fan of the tournament and the league’s efforts to continuously evolve and find avenues to improve the game. Regardless of who won on Saturday, the takeaway is this new tournament works and time will tell if tweaks will be made to it.
Max Christie: Lakers being first In-Season Tournament winners means more than money
While the cash prize of $500,000 for the tournament winners was indeed lucrative, Lakers guard Max Christie believes that being the first team to win it all means more than the money.
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