By CJ Carlson
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t take his new in-season tournament lightly, which is why they are now the first ever winners of it. Almost unsurprisingly, LeBron continued his on-court excellence by getting himself and the Lakers franchise another accomplishment.
Nobody was quite sure how the league or the fans would react to a new in-season tournament. Aftewr all, there weren’t many people that understood the reasoning behind it. However, it became so successful because the players bought into the idea and all of them wanted the $500,000 reward that would go to each player on the roster. Two teams really took their game to another level, those being the Lakers and the Indiana Pacers. The two teams remaining in the tournament, clashing against one another in a battle to be the last team standing.
In-Season Tournament MVP And The Lakers Dominance
Tyrese Haliburton and company had been incredible, but it was clear that they just didn’t have the firepower necessary to compete with the Lakers experience. This was especially true down in the painted area. Anthony Davis dropped 41 points, snagged 20 rebounds, and blocked four shots. He did so while only missing eight of his 24 shot attempts as well. He was the most dominant player on the floor, and it was one of the most impressive individual performances throughout all of 2023 so far. And yet, he didn’t win the in-season tournament MVP award when the Lakers were presented the trophy. That honor went to LeBron James himself.
LeBron wins In-Season Tournament MVP Award
LeBron averaged 26.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game throughout the tournament, shooting 56.8 percent from the field and a blistering 60.6 percent from three-point range. Los Angeles went 7-0 in the group stage and the knockout round thanks to what LeBron was doing on the court.
He also scored 24 points and 11 rebounds with four assists in the final game of the tournament against Indiana. Now nearing his 39th birthday, King James continues to show the world that he isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon. I mean, whenever you are able to get a plus/minus rating of +118 throughout the entire tournament, I’m pretty sure you can say that he hasn’t lost a step.
