LeBron James has been absolutely dominant in the knockout round of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar has posted back-to-back 30-point nights in leading the team to the Finals on Saturday night against the Indiana Pacers.
This In-Season Tournament is something completely different from anything the league has ever had. It isn’t quite the playoffs, but it is certainly bigger than the average regular season game. The last four teams remaining came to Las Vegas in something that could be compared to the NCAA Final Four.
Of course LeBron never got the opportunity to play in the March Madness tournament and the Lakers star admitted that for him, this is something similar.
“It’s funny, my trainer was like, ‘You know, one thing you haven’t done in your 21-year career is be in the Final Four,’ before the game started today. I chuckled a little bit,” LeBron said. “I played in my high school. I went to the state championship every year, all my four years. But once you start the postseason, it is win-or-go-home, and you can’t lose or that’s it.
“I did have that experience, but this is definitely heightened, being NBA players and what’s at stake and things of that nature. I guess you can say that.”
The In-Season Tournament is the latest creation of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and the Lakers have had great success with his previous ones as well. There was the bubble of course, in which the Lakers won the 2020 NBA Championship. And the Play-In Tournament has also seen the Lakers go 2-0 as well.
This is not lost on LeBron, who still views the 2020 championship as the biggest accomplishment.
“Well, we’ve been successful with the first two. Where I rank it, the bubble is one, obviously. We won a championship. But we also had an opportunity to play in Play-In games. I think we’ve had two — one against Golden State and one against Minnesota last year — and we won both to give us a nod into the postseason. And this has been good so far as well to us, too.
“We’ve got to finish our breakfast on Saturday. That’s the most important thing. But like I said — yeah, he’s pretty good. Adam, like I said, what was that, yesterday, I said Adam is a genius. He does a great job, for sure.”
James and the Lakers have benefitted from Silver’s creations and on Saturday they have another chance to add to their legacy.
Lakers’ LeBron James believes Las Vegas is a sports town
Something else that seems likely under this Adam Silver regime in the NBA is expansion and Las Vegas looks to be a prime candidate. This is something that James is all for as he proclaimed the city a sports town.
“Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it’s crazy to say this, but Vegas is a sports town,” the Lakers star said. “You look at the Aces and you look at the hockey team, you look at the Raiders. I heard the A’s are coming here soon. Obviously, Summer League has been here for years. We just had F1 here over Thanksgiving. I mean, it’s a sports town. Hopefully, I can bring my franchise here someday. That’s the ultimate.
“Yeah, they know what they’re watching. They show a lot of support. Sports is gigantic here right now, and they definitely support their clubs here. That’s for sure.”
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