The Los Angeles Lakers have won the first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament, defeating the Indiana Pacers 123-109. Future Hall of Famer LeBron James was named MVP.

🏆The Lakers are your FIRST NBA In-Season Tournament Champions!

Beginning odds: +1300#NBA #Lakers pic.twitter.com/mpXb7SzimH

— Ballislife Bets (@BallislifeBets) December 10, 2023

Members of the Los Angeles Lakers are one paycheck richer, and have possession of the first-ever “NBA Cup.” While both Indiana and Los Angeles earned their first trip to Las Vegas, it was the Lakers that secured the win.

With such a unique opportunity, both LeBron James and Anthony Davis showed just how valuable they are to the Lakers organization. For Laker fans, all they’ve known is winning, since the franchise is tied with the Boston Celtics for 17 banners. With the court at a neutral site, many Lakers fans were in attendance to capture the special victory.

While Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 41 points, 20 rebounds, five assists, and four blocks, it was LeBron James who took away the NBA In-Season Trophy MVP trophy. Known to ball out on the biggest stage, James finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and one steal in 35 minutes of action.

While many remember Michael Jordan’s “flu game,” this time, guard Austin Reaves was feeling under the weather. While this isn’t the NBA Finals, Reaves finished with an impressive 28 points, three assists, and two rebounds in 28 minutes.

With Reaves, the only productive player off the bench, all five Lakers starters were positive on the court. Reaves’ production certainly took a tiny bit of pressure off James and Davis.

Anthony Davis had a Shaq-like performance

#LakersWin pic.twitter.com/5zaksVGKxH

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 10, 2023

The Pacers truly had a spectacular run, making their first-ever tournament finals. While the Pacers have never won a championship, Tyrese Haliburton expressed his desire and excitement over the possibility of winning a trophy.

Although the Pacers fell short of that goal, the duo of Anthony Davis and LeBron James was overwhelming. In fact, Anthony Davis had facial expressions we’ve never seen before. Perhaps after being doubted so many times, the Lakers are out for blood.

The duo was so spectacular, that coach Ham compared Davis and James to two former NFL Stars. “LeBron is our Tom Brady on offense, Anthony Davis is our Ray Lewis. He anchors our defense, he plays middle linebacker, he communicates, he does all of that.” And with that said, the duo are certainly propelling the Lakers’ success this season.

Surprisingly, the Lakers only attempted 13 long-range shots, in which they hit 15 % of them. With the Pacers ranked as the top offensive team, Los Angeles attacked and exposed their biggest weakness.

They attacked downhill and outscored Indiana 86-44 in the paint. With the NBA so heavily focused on three-point shooting, this came as a bit of a surprise to me. 86 points in the paint? I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a team so dominant below. To be honest, it’s quite refreshing.

LeBron and AD were dynamic in the paint

Know it was crazy when you get that reaction from Dr. J 🔥 pic.twitter.com/mJjER4eV8c

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 10, 2023

For Anthony Davis, he was as aggressive as head coach Darvin Ham could ask for. Double-teamed, in transition, Davis was everywhere on the court. For Davis and LeBron, it was about executing mismatches and post-ups in the paint.

Once leading by 16 points, the Lakers maintained a majority of the lead shortly after the start of the first quarter. To showcase paint dominance, 6-45 combined shot attempts from Davis and LeBron came outside the paint. While the Pacers are an extremely well-oiled machine offensively, the paint was left wide open on several occasions.

Often rolling to the basket, Davis looked elite in his tournament debut. While the IST finals don’t technically count in the standings, AD would now have 12 straight games with a double-double. For Reaves, his 17 first-half points were monumental.

Like the Warriors have the “splash brothers” with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, James and Davis were the ultimate “paint brothers.” LeBron James even described Davis’s performance as “Shaq-like” post-game.

Anthony Davis made it known that while winning the tournament is special, the Lakers have their eye on the Lombardi trophy come June.  “This is special for us, said Davis. “Just winning the inaugural In-Season Tournament, but we want to also win the same thing in June.”

The Pacers struggled offensively

While it was rare to see the Pacers struggle offensively, they were held to just 36.8 % from the field and 24.4 % from three-point range. Tyrese Haliburton, who has risen to stardom, struggled especially from a long distance.

The Pacers guard tied Bennedict Mathurin for a team-high 20 points, 11 assists, one steal, block, and rebound. After watching Haliburton scorch the Celtics and the Bucks in rounds prior, the Lakers used a rather aggressive approach, limiting Haliburton to just 7 first-half points.

Overall, the NBA In-Season Tournament told a story of two teams with different play styles. The Lakers had the clear-cut size advantage, while the Pacers continued their ruthless three-point shooting and high pace play.

I will say, while Rick Carlisle’s team doesn’t play stellar defense, it definitely showed on the biggest stage in Vegas. As mediocre as the Lakers have been the last few seasons, we know one thing, LeBron James knows how to win in the spotlight.

Shoutout to you, Lakers Nation 💜💛 pic.twitter.com/P8NNFdu8RX

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 10, 2023

The Lakers once again take another trophy home, while the Pacers got a slight taste of playoff-type basketball. With both teams currently ranked as the No. 5 seed in the Western and Eastern Conference, they will face off two more times in March.

As for LeBron James, he officially has every trophy and award you can think of during his 21 seasons in the NBA. For a player that’s 38 years old, his ability to still dominate and play basketball at such a high level has been on full display.

While coach Ham stated the Lakers “needed this,” Los Angeles will try to build off their recent momentum as the season progresses. Along with his MVP trophy, LeBron didn’t shy away from his love for Las Vegas. He’s been vocal about his post-career plans and didn’t hold back.

“My enthusiasm about being here post-career, bringing a team here has not changed,” James told the media. “The fans are amazing here.”