LeBron James downplays reaching In-Season Tournament title game: ‘Still December’

LeBron James and the Lakers might be on their way to the NBA In-Season Tournament championship game, aka the NBA Cup, but he’s not viewing it on the same level as the postseason.

James was asked directly on the TNT broadcast following his team’s 133-89 rout over the Pelicans on Thursday night about how he felt about reaching the NBA’s first-ever tournament title game.

While he said the new format to the season has been a fun addition, the 38-year-old seemed to keep his priorities in check.

“I mean, listen, it’s still December, so I’m not getting too crazy about the whole thing,” James said. “I understand this thing has been great — In-Season Tournament — but it’s still December. But it is a another game for us to get better and we want to try to win that game because we’re a team who wants to get better every single game we go out there, every quarter, every possession. We have another opportunity to do that.”

Los Angeles largely does have that opportunity thanks to James’ prodigious night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas when he dropped a game-high 30 points with eight assists and five rebounds.

On top of that, James shot a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point land and was immaculate from the free-throw line on his eight attempts.

He did all of that before being subbed out with 5:44 left in the third quarter and not even playing the entirety of the fourth.

“I think we came out with a defensive mindset,” James said on TNT. “When we defend, we’re going to give ourselves a good chance to win any ballgame. … We’re continuing to get better, but the most important thing is we continue to get healthy. … We’re just playing Laker basketball right now.”

The type of basketball has the team on a three-game winning streak and set up for a date with the Pacers on Saturday in the NBA Cup final.

Players from the winning team will each receive a $500,000 prize.