LeBron James made history yet again on Saturday night after he was named the first-ever MVP of the NBA In-Season Tournament.
The first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament MVP:
LeBron James 🏆 pic.twitter.com/lVxJfgdHhx
— NBA (@NBA) December 10, 2023
A nice little joke there from Commissioner Adam Silver that it doesn’t come with a franchise in Las Vegas, which James has made clear he’d want to own. For now, he’ll have to settle with the NBA Cup and the MVP trophy, which isn’t a bad consolation.
LeBron had 24 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals on this historic night, as the Los Angeles Lakers won 123-109 against the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers were within touching distance of the Lakers for much of the game, but L.A. managed to pull away late to cruise to victory at the end.
NBA Fans React To LeBron James Being The First In-Season Tournament MVP
LeBron winning the award inevitably generated a lot of buzz on social media. NBA fans were hyped as they praised James for winning MVP.
One said LeBron is the GOAT.
https://twitter.com/xcallumxo/status/1733711801903141195
A fan believes James is still the best player in the NBA.
STILL the best player on the planet. Even at his advanced age, he’d be my first pick if I were starting a team from scratch. He makes everyone around him better.
— Ira Pulverman (@IraPulverman) December 10, 2023
One fan felt it couldn’t have been more fitting.
https://twitter.com/jetsdelusion/status/1733712207655866818
One fan found it hilarious that Silver brought up the topic of LeBron wanting to own a team.
Your owner blatantly acknowledging you’re gonna be an owner is all time goat status
— CamGuapo (@CammGuapo) December 10, 2023
One hailed LeBron as the GOAT for doing this in his 21st season.
IN YEAR 21??? Greatest ever. It’s not close
— Beloved Bone (@BelovedBone) December 10, 2023
While Anthony Davis was clearly the best player in the final with 41 points, 20 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks, James was more consistent than him over the course of the tournament. He had 30-point outings in two of the group stage games, against the Phoenix Suns and the Portland Trail Blazers.
Then in the quarterfinals against the Suns, he had 31 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, and 5 steals. He followed that up with 30 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists against the New Orleans Pelicans in the semifinals. While I wouldn’t say he was the runaway winner, he certainly deserved it and fairly comfortably came out on top in the voting.
The NBA In-Season Tournament MVP was selected by a panel of media and fan votes. Complete results below ⬇️ https://t.co/tCSthVyH6T pic.twitter.com/4EqOhnL549
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) December 10, 2023
Had the Pacers won, Tyrese Haliburton may have walked away with it, but it wasn’t to be for him.
LeBron James Explained Why He Put In Maximum Effort To Win The Tournament
When the idea of the tournament was floated around and even when it was introduced, many were skeptical about it. Would the players care about something like this? Well, they certainly did, and LeBron perhaps more so than anyone else. After accepting the award, he was asked why he put so much effort into this.
“Because my youngin’s over here, my rookies, my second-year guys, some of them haven’t experienced playoff basketball,” James said. “Some of their paychecks are not as equipped as some of the older guys on our team. And then some of our fans during the December and January months they kind of stall out a little bit so I felt it’s my obligation and it’s my responsibility to keep everybody engaged, including my teammates, including our fans for our beautiful sport, so that’s why I was locked in from day one.”
(starts at 4:55 mark):
The experience of playing and winning this cup will certainly help some of the younger players on the team when the playoffs come around. They’ll also certainly appreciate James’ efforts, which have led to all of them walking away with $500,000 each, a massive amount for the ones on low salaries.
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