Lakers unveil in-season tournament championship banner in brief ceremony at Crypto.com Arena
The Lakers went 7-0 and won the inaugural NBA Cup earlier this month in Las Vegas
The Los Angeles Lakers unveiled their latest banner at Crypto.com Arena on Monday night.
The Lakers, following their win over the Indiana Pacers at the in-season tournament to claim the inaugural NBA Cup earlier this month, officially hung their championship banner at their downtown Los Angeles arena on Monday night.
The banner — which is smaller and looks different from the other 12 championship banners the team won after moving to Los Angeles that are hanging in the rafters — was unveiled during a brief ceremony ahead of the Lakers’ 114-109 loss to the New York Knicks. The team played a highlight package from the in-season tournament title run before the black curtain hanging over the banner was pulled off.
While it wasn’t as eventful as other championship ceremonies often seen in the league — NBA commissioner Adam Silver was not there, and Lakers team owner Jeanie Buss didn’t speak in a ceremony or anything like that — the Lakers are still embracing the title completely.
hISTory pic.twitter.com/1aU0Zq3ovN
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 19, 2023
"I think it's great for the organization," Lakers coach Darvin Ham said before the game, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. "Obviously [the tournament is] something that's going to be around. It's only going to get bigger and better. I think it's really, really cool that we're doing that. Especially being the first to win the inaugural in-season tourney."
The Lakers went 7-0 in the first edition of the in-season tournament earlier this year, which ended with their win over the Pacers in the championship game in Las Vegas. LeBron James earned MVP honors for the tournament after he averaged 26.4 points, eight rebounds, 7.6 assists and 1.6 steals throughout the seven games. James shot 56.8% from the field and better than 60% from behind the arc, too. James and Anthony Davis were both named to the All-Tournament Team.
As a result of their win, every Lakers player and coach earned a $500,000 bonus.
Since their win over the Pacers, the Lakers have gone just 1-3 and split a pair of games with the San Antonio Spurs — who were in the midst of a franchise-worst 18-game losing streak. James had a triple-double in Monday's loss with 25 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, and Anthony Davis had 32 points and 14 rebounds. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 29 points, and Julius Randle added 27 points and 13 rebounds. The Knicks are now 15-11 on the season, and have won three of their last five.
