The NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament is still very new and considered to be a work in progress at this stage in the development process. Overall, it has been a massive success in its first season, making games in November and December more intense. Players are treating it like the NBA Playoffs and it has made for a remarkable on-court product.
With the Knockout Round of the tournament coming down to two teams, the Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers, it is almost time to crown the first-ever NBA Cup Champion. How will the winning franchise react? Will the Lakers/Pacers hang a banner if they win the tournament?
Per Arash Markazi of The Messenger, the Lakers “have no plans to change their stance on only hanging banners for NBA championships. They don’t hang banners for Western Conference titles, Pacific Division titles and (for now) potential NBA In-Season Tournament titles, only NBA titles,” Markazi wrote on X (also known as Twitter).
The Lakers are arguably the most storied franchise in the NBA, having won 17 championships all time. With that in mind, it is not shocking to hear a historic franchise founded on competing for and winning postseason championships say they don’t plan to hang a banner for winning a regular season tournament.
The NBA In-Season Tournament Championship game is set to take place on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 8:30 PM in Las Vegas, Nevada.
