Charles Barkley, on the Dan Patrick show, after the LA Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers in the In-Season tournament final, talked about the Lakers’ plans to raise an In-Season tournament banner at their Crypto.com arena, a suggestion that has not been met kindly by Chuck. When asked about the banner, Barkley rejected the claim and said that it would have made sense if the Indiana Pacers hoisted a banner after winning the tournament.
Advertisement
Chuck claimed that such an event would tempt him as well. “Dan, are you serious right now? If the Pacers do an In-Season parade, I am going to Indie for that. It was a resounding success. Everybody is really happy with the In-Season tournament, but we are not raising banners, not doing parades,” he said.
However, Dan Patrick told Barkley that the Lakers’ banner was actually happening. In response, he claimed that he had little idea, and seemed grateful for the same. “You know I am so glad that I wasn’t watching Saturday night. If I saw them doing Champagne for the In-Season tournament…You don’t do champagne for the In-Season tournament. I am glad I didn’t see that,” he said.
Chuck went on to suggest that winning the In-Season tournament would not have been a huge achievement for Michael Jordan, before talking about the Pacers. Barkley thought that the young Indiana Pacers had a breakthrough tournament, and the competition effectively served as a coming-out party for Tyrese Haliburton.
However, as far as the Lakers were concerned, Chuck had his thoughts straight. “The Lakers and the Celtics are the gold standard…If you are the Lakers, or the Celtics, only thing that matters are the championships. The Lakers better not…If they do that, I am going to roast their a** on TV,” he claimed.
Hence, fans can expect some hilarious responses from Chuck and his TNT colleagues, when the Lakers actually raise their In-Season banner.
The LA Lakers changed their stance on the In-Season tournament banner
Having won a total of 17 NBA Championships, the LA Lakers were initially not planning to raise a banner for the In-Season victory. According to journalist Arash Markazi, the franchise only raised banners for NBA titles.
I’m told the Lakers currently have no plans to change their stance on only hanging banners for NBA championships. They don’t hang banners for Western Conference titles, Pacific Division titles and (for now) potential NBA In-Season Tournament titles, only NBA titles.
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) December 8, 2023
This means that alongside In-Season tournaments, Western Conference titles and Pacific Division titles also did not warrant banners, as far as the Lakers were concerned. That, however, changed via a recent announcement on Twitter.
Lakers Nation, join us in celebrating our undefeated run to the inaugural In-Season Tournament Championship pic.twitter.com/nfjz8308Nr
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 11, 2023
With Anthony Davis and LeBron James being named to the All-tournament team and LeBron being named MVP, the franchise now plans to raise a banner on December 18. Hence, while the plan initially was to not raise it, winning the first-ever In-Season seems to have resulted in a quick change in stance.
Lifting the trophy of the first-ever NBA In-Season tournament of the league, the Lakers have surely etched their name to another legacy. While it is up to the team to decide if it’s worth raising a banner, there is absolutely no harm in celebrating every small win, especially when the King is named the MVP.
