NBA In-Season Tournament 2023 ended successfully with the championship belonging to the Los Angeles Lakers and MVP named LeBron James. For many people, winning the MVP title is a proud achievement, but for LeBron James it may be different.
During his great career, James won 4 regular season MVPs, 4 Finals MVPs, 4 All-Star Game MVPs, on X (formerly twitter) many fans questioned whether The King really needed the title. MVP In-Season Tournament title or not.
However, James affirmed the importance of the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament championship: “We made history,” – he said right after the victory over the Indiana Pacers. “The first In-Season Tournament championship belongs to the Los Angeles Lakers. We are the leaders, that will never change”.
Proof of LeBron James’s durability
James is about to turn 39, and is still fit to challenge for all titles. In his 21st season, James is still playing at an All-NBA level. Even if he’s not at his peak like he was in Cleveland and Miami, at least what James is doing right now is still unbelievable.
The In-Season Tournament format could not be more suitable for James to showcase exactly what he is best at. In 7 games, James averaged 26.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.6 assists, shooting 56.8% and 60.6% from the three-point line. In the knockout round, James was even better, averaging 28.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.7 assists.
James still wants to win the NBA championship again, but the Lakers star understands how difficult that goal is. With the Lakers’ current force, they can go deep, but winning the NBA championship is a very difficult task. And the In-Season Tournament championship is still an official title and affirms the Lakers’ strength this season. It also helps the players be more confident in the upcoming journey.
Winning a championship for the first time is always meaningful
The In-Season Tournament championship is an affirmation that the Lakers cannot be taken lightly this season. Winning here gives the whole team more confidence, and looks forward to the next stage of the season. The success of this year’s tournament is the foundation for NBA executives to believe that this is the future of the tournament.
10, 15 or even 20 years later, when the In-Season Tournament becomes a cultural feature and an inevitable part of the NBA season, everyone will remember the first team to win the tournament, which was the Lakers led by James. head.
Records will be broken and the trophy will be held by many other teams, but there is one record that will forever belong to the Lakers, which is the first team to win the tournament. James also personally became a wall when he became the first MVP of the tournament.
James doesn’t need the In-Season Tournament MVP title to be great, but winning a tournament is still worthy of recognition nonetheless. As the prestige and influence of the In-Season Tournament increases, the title James receives will also increase.
