The Los Angeles Lakers will honor their NBA In-Season Tournament title with a banner after all.
Jovan Buha of The Athletic noted the team revealed it will raise a “unique, add-a-year In-Season Tournament banner” ahead of their home game against the New York Knicks on Dec. 18. The Lakers will differentiate the banner from the ones honoring their 17 championships by making it a different shape and color.
It will also be just one banner for space to add future years should the Purple and Gold win it again in the future.
This comes after Arash Markazi of The Messenger reported on Saturday that the team didn’t plan on recognizing the title with a banner because it has only raised banners for championships and retired numbers of Hall of Fame players.
That it was the Lakers who won the inaugural In-Season Tournament raised questions about whether there would be a banner.
After all, they and the Boston Celtics are the most decorated franchises in NBA history. They are championship-or-bust almost every season, and they have long reserved the banner space for the sport’s ultimate accomplishment while other teams recognize accomplishments such as division and conference crowns.
Ultimately, the team decided to recognize the unique win.
Los Angeles earned the title with a victory over the Indiana Pacers in Saturday’s NBA In-Season Tournament Championship. While Tyrese Haliburton was the break-out star of the tournament and helped lead the Pacers to the title game, the veteran Lakers controlled play with the championship hanging in the balance.
Anthony Davis was unstoppable with 41 points, 20 rebounds, five assists and four blocks, while LeBron James added 24 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals. James was recognized as the In-Season Tournament MVP for his overall efforts.
James and Davis also headlined the All-Tournament Team alongside Haliburton, Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
This doesn’t change Los Angeles’ larger goal of winning an 18th championship this season, but the banner will be there to remind the franchise of its success in the inaugural In-Season Tournament regardless of what happens in the playoffs.
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