With an eye toward winning an in-season tournament, the Los Angeles Lakers are all in.
In honor of their historic NBA Cup victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday, the Lakers announced on Monday that they would raise a banner at Crypto.com Arena. The 17 NBA title banners owned by the team, as well as retired jerseys of players like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and Kobe Bryant, will be displayed next to the banner.
However, it won’t resemble their banners from their NBA titles.
They will “unveil a unique, add-a-year in-season tournament banner, recognizing the inaugural 2023 win,” according to the Lakers. Additional information about the banner itself was not provided. However, it appears that they are not hanging new banners, but rather allowing space to honor any additional in-season titles on the same one.
All of it sounds like a sensible middle ground that both recognizes and distinguishes the novel achievement from the more illustrious ones mentioned in the rafters. The Lakers are establishing the standard for upcoming NBA Cup celebrations because they were the first to do this.
The banner will be unveiled by the Lakers on December 18 prior to their home game against the Knicks. They will do so in conjunction with a ceremony honoring LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant, and Pacers guard Tyrese Halliburton for their selections to the All-Tournament Team.
In seven tournament games, all of which the Lakers won, James averaged 26.4 points, eight rebounds, 7.6 assists, 1.6 steals, and 60.6% from 3-point range. For his MVP performance, James received voting from his peers.
