One week after being crowned champion of the NBA In-Season Tournament in the first time the tournament was held, the Los Angeles Lakers celebrated this achievement in a very special way.
The yellow and purple shirt team hung the championship flag on the ceiling of the Crypto.com Arena on the morning of December 19 Vietnam time, a celebration equivalent to winning the NBA championship.
This banner unveiling ceremony was brief but still quite solemn, taking place right before the match between the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks.
The two teams paused their warm-up for about 5 minutes. A video summarizing the Lakers’ 7-0 undefeated journey was shown on the big screen. Then the Los Angeles team’s NBA In-Season Tournament championship banner was officially revealed.
The NBA In-Season Tournament championship banner was designed by the Los Angeles Lakers in black with yellow borders. In the middle is the words “In-Season Tournament Champions”, accompanied by the team logo, championship year 2023 and a picture of the trophy.
Compared to other championship flags on the ceiling of the Crypto.com arena, this banner is smaller but has a more special shape to make it stand out.
“ I think this achievement is a positive highlight for the club. Of course, the tournament will develop and expand further, but no one will forget the first team to win. I am proud and very proud of my students “, head coach Darvin Ham shared.
But the joy was not complete for the Los Angeles Lakers when they lost to the New York Knicks 109-114 on the day of the championship banner presentation.
Anthony Davis scored 32 points and 14 rebounds. LeBron James had a triple-double of 25 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists and Austin Reaves reached 20 points. Unfortunately, this effort was not enough for them to celebrate victory.
On the other side of the front line, Jalen Brunson continued his momentum with 29 points. He combined with Julius Randle’s 27 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Knicks to their third win in the last 5 appearances.
As a team with quite fluctuating performance in the Regular Season, LA Lakers played extremely well in the NBA In-Season Tournament.
Before the cup match, they had only 3 wins in 8 matches in early November and fell to the bottom half of the rankings. But when entering the In-Season Tournament, the Lakers created a 7-match unbeaten streak to climb to 4th place in the West.
Now that the Cup tournament has ended, LeBron James and his teammates are showing signs of instability. In addition to the defeat right after revealing the championship flag against the New York Knicks this morning, the Lakers have lost 3 of the last 4 matches.
