Throughout the entirety of the In-Season Tournament, Los Angeles Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis seemed highly motivated to win the NBA Cup and the cash prize of $500,000.
The tournament allowed for the 38-year-old to compete for something new and add to his long list of accolades. But being able to cash in on a payday also helps his teammates who are not on big-time contracts.
Two-way guard Alex Fudge revealed that James told him and other two-way players that he was going to win the tournament for them, via Marc J. Spears of Andscape:
“I knew LeBron was going to do it. He told me before the game and said, ‘This is for you [Alex] Fudge. This is for you for D’Moi [Hodge]. This is for everybody,” Fudge, a Lakers forward on a two-way contract to play offense and defense, told Andscape after the game. “I trusted him and now we’re here. Just knowing that he is thinking about us is a blessing. Not too many people are like that. That just says who LeBron is.”
It was clear that the four-time champion was motivated to help out his teammates and was confident in his ability to come through for them with D’Moi Hodge echoing Fudge’s comments:
Said Hodge, a rookie guard on a two-way deal: “He told the rookies, ‘I got y’all. Don’t even worry about it.’”
During some early season struggles, it was night and day difference in the Lakers when it was and wasn’t a tournament game. Rookie Maxwell Lewis saw firsthand that when money is on the line, James is going to take his game to another level:
“Obviously, [James] doesn’t need it. Just him wanting to do it and helping us out because we’re the young guys is a blessing … What I learned about this environment is that when money is on the line, it is much more serious,” Lewis told Andscape.
By winning the In-Season Tournament MVP, James is still finding ways to defy the odds and his care factor was evident by averaging 26.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.6 assists in seven tournament games. Overall, it is a testament to who LeBron is as a teammate and wanted to come through for his rookies.
With this year being the inaugural season of the In-Season Tournament, there was a historic aspect to it being the first team to win the NBA Cup. The Lakers being the storied franchise that they are, it checked out that they were the first team to leave their mark on the tournament.
James pleased with growth Lakers showed during In-Season Tournament
The Lakers came out of the gates slow with a 3-5 record but with players now getting healthy, the team is finding their stride. Thanks to the tournament, it helped the team in high stakes games and James is pleased with the growth he’s seen from the team because of it.
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