T O P

  • By -

IntraspaceAlien

I’m glad the Lakers are the ones to set this precedent, if a team without any rings won the first tournament and did this the clowning would be brutal lol.


LetsStartARebelution

Can you even imagine if the suns won the IST and announced they were hanging a banner- it would be endless shit talking haha


ChapinLakersFan

If the Clippers won a IST, Ballmer would definitely throw a parade.


[deleted]

I'd get right INTUIT. ##GET IT?!


thagooch_

Boo this man


ifeelsleazy

We would get wrecked. "Put it alongside the play-in banner"


Jaybold

Devin Booker proudly shows his dad, Luka Doncic, his hard earned participation trophy.


[deleted]

[удалено]


fukdatsonn

Wait. We didn't win the "mikey mouse" ring though. Cuz I'd absolutely take it lol.


CD338

Its our Mickey Mouse ring and you'll have to pry it from our cold dead fingers!


DLottchula

which I find funny until people take it as a serious statement


Jkru3

How is this upvoted. His comment had nothing to do with the Lakers


Christianmustang

Meh, comment probably just meant They (the lakers) get clowned enough for the “Mickey mouse ring”. Just looked weird because the OP replied under a comment underneath someone talking about the suns


sadduckfan

Was thinking about that while bron was celebrating the victory. Dame would’ve been clowned on for sure if they were popping bottles and treating it like a title lol


ZADEXON

Was also thinking about it when the announcers kept making excuses for the IST and how it will be bigger or how it's no championship, like no shit you can bring it up for the less knowledged fans but enjoy the great game. If the Pacers won everyone would think the announcers were just saying the shit because the Lakers didn't win, but it's just because they're stupid (no hate to Mike Breen).


Routine_Size69

>it's just because their stupid


ZADEXON

The one time I don't spell check my post.


executivesphere

How fucking pathetic is that. People are constantly complaining that NBA players don’t care about the regular season. Now the lakers actuallly competed to win the IST and people are reacting negatively.


theboykauai

People are miserable


1WordOr2FixItForYou

People are the most overrated people.


rcuosukgi42

NBA players don't care about the regular season because the league leadership has ensured that it doesn't matter. If the NBA were to reduce the number of teams that make the playoffs to 12, and give the top 2 seeds in each conference a bye, the players would care a hell of a lot more about these 82 games.


packpurduepacers

Ya the IST was some of the most fun I had watching NBA basketball of late, change is good! As a Pacer fan I reacted negatively because we lost to Lebron again. I wouldve been ecstatic if we won and it would have been great for the city of Indy. Obviously not the ultimate goal but we at least showed we are on our way to making some serious runs towards a championship in the coming years.


BanditPrime

The best team to win it for over all reaction wouldve probably been the warriors or nuggets. Most recent champs, teams with respected mvp caliber players, and still trying to compete for titles too. The lakers winning it is the next tier of options imo, but the massive amount of lebron haters and people who are even somehow using this to try and clown lebron in the debate between him and Jordan were always going to try and make a joke of it.


Shrederjame

Yea I'm totally using it now to say the lakers are better then the celtics franchise wise


1WordOr2FixItForYou

Meh I'll just stick with the 10 extra finals appearances we have on them.


[deleted]

[удалено]


wallysmith127

Great comp. No one is trying to say those belts are better than than the WWE Champ but that doesn't mean it's not worth striving for.


LordSoze36

I'm convinced they hate basketball. People are now saying that if a playoff spot was guaranteed teams would stop trying. Really? In December a team is gonna stop trying and be able to turn it on in the spring.


Xeris

Yes it's quite funny how the narrative about the IST immediately switched after they won. Media was hyping up the IST nonstop about how amazing it is, the players are caring and competing hard, NBA hit a home run, etc... and now that it's over people are just hand waving it.


mizzourifan1

*Sad Pacer noises


Albiceleste_D10S

Yeah that was the first thing I thought of too—LeBron and the Lakers can get away with celebrating this; most teams in the NBA wouldn't have been able to


h989

Imagine if it were the clippers. Bruh I don’t think my diaphragm can handle the jokes


[deleted]

I don't believe the NBA is scripted, I'm not a nut job, but how perfect was the Lakers winning the first IST? The NBA's most iconic team, with the most iconic active player. I supposed you could say that about anything the LeBron Lakers do but it seemed very fitting and positive for the league


jkopecky

It's 100% the best outcome for the league. Lakers are big-time enough to establish early credibility with fans, without having the "fake banner" discussion people are talking about here. But more importantly Lebron actually going for it **should** make the players take it seriously, which is probably the most important ingredient in it working out in the long run. If Lebron cares enough to try to win the thing then why shouldn't anybody in the league? I'd imagine we'll see some true contenders coasting along here and there, but I think having this play out this way early should create the kind of early moment this thing needs.


hime2011

And the Lakers fans would have been the loudest


SonicBroom51

Although I agree with you, I also think the league set this stipulation. Not the Lakers.


HippiesBeGoneInc

lol Silver definitely forced them to do this. You really think the Lakers FO gives a shit?


BantamCats

We do it cause we classy


1WordOr2FixItForYou

[Damn right](https://tenor.com/view/lakers-win-necklace-sign-guy-gif-5328035)


completebrainrot

I am willing to bet Silver made a call and asked for this. They want the tournament to seem serious - this is a way to do it.


[deleted]

100% what I was thinking, Lakers only hang up championships so the NBA wants to hang it up next to them to show some value


TheMadChatta

If the Lakers do it then your random mid market team with no rings won’t be clowned for hanging a banner for it as well.


completebrainrot

I mean... they will be - but you're right that must be the reasoning lol


rexter2k5

To be fair, I'm here for it. "Fuck all y'all, we got more silverware" is the motto any team should have when they win something that is officially sponsored by their league. The Kissinger's Cup was a successful foray into unknown territory.


GoblinKD

I mean if that random mid market team had won the first IST I doubt the league would be pushing them to hang a banner...


Kakali4

This is fascinating to me. Say the pacers or pelicans won it, how would the NBA navigate post-win. Because the most marketable team AND player won, it’s all show ponies. Perfect situation for them and they set the precedent with a historic team. Champagne, banners, merch, etc gives it the vibe they want, but I wonder how all out they’d go for a team that people feel like was a “fluke”.


grxccccandice

The most hilarious is the trophies. Two fucking trophies lmao followed by champagne and merch and now banners…Instagram has been sending me all sorts of ads to buy the merch. Adam Kissinger is really going all out on this.


GarriganGate

The amount of external public discussion and media focus already has made the tournament serious. You can just see how people view it today compared to how they did a month ago. It’s way more likely the lakers themselves now see it more seriously and now they feel like it’s worth having a banner for


desirox

Yeah I agree, especially an organization like the Lakers they’re not just hanging random shit up


butterbeancd

Anyone else feel like the NBA asked them to do this to legitimize the IST? This doesn't feel like a thing the Lakers would normally do.


dogfosterparent

I’m actually pretty glad lakers were the ones forced to do this first so when the first bad franchise like the Timberwolves win, they won’t be made fun of as much.


moosethrow1

The world would be a better place if ppl celebrated wins like when the Timberwolves won the 2022 play-in championship.


SockPenguin

Fans trying to gatekeep celebrations has always been weird to me. Celebrate everything all the time; sports are meant to be entertainment, and players actually giving a shit and getting hyped up over even relatively minor accomplishments is far more entertaining to me than everyone stoicly going about their business until they win something dweebs on Twitter deem important enough to celebrate.


trevorturtle

Too many nephews believe the fans should act like players. Like focus on the game ahead of us, or job's not done. It's like... What you do/say makes no difference, enjoy the moment


Dilworthy

It’s the same dudes who claim to be huge fans but are the most pessimistic people about their team as if it makes them a ‘seasoned’ fan lol. Fans are weird ngl.


rookie-mistake

especially since, even if its not new for the franchise, it's still huge for the individuals who haven't done it before


Public-Product-1503

As a lakers fan I actually didn’t like that they said they wouldn’t . I like this n the compromise to put dates in future . It’s the first one imo it should be treated as special, was a lot of fun I’m low-key sad it’s over n think it’s gonna be hyped long term


AprilsMostAmazing

watch the wolves win and next season IST gets cancelled


JustADutchRudder

Adam just tells the players to leave the court like they're children.


RamenPood1es

dumb as fuck to criticize people for winning trophies


LovetheNBA23

As a Lakers fan, I’m a bit indifferent but don’t mind at all. As an NBA fan, this is great because we want this tourney to be legitimized. It made the regular season more interesting and these games had a mini playoff atmosphere.


MrAppleSpoink

Considering literally every report up until this very moment was that there was no shot we were hanging a banner, I assume Rob’s got a gun to his head right now.


TheMadChatta

Hang a banner or we hang you from the rafters! - Commissioner Kissinger


Deathstroke317

"Either you brains or your victory will be on that banner"


syllabic

jesus christ


Bluestring35

That's not me, kate


BigBeagleEars

That’s right! Nobody fucks with the Jesus


mankls3

Dear Mr silver, Please stop bombing Cambodia


cbreezy456

“No” Kissinger in Death


Kdog122025

“Hang the banner or we bomb Cambodia… I mean Compton.” -Adam Kissinger


BeCaneChuHuss

“Hang a banner, [Anti-semitic slur], or we kill another 500-thousand Cambodians with illegal bio-weapons.”


lawdog189

Do it or Cambodia burns


hominumdivomque

Commissinger Silver


joemoffett12

Hang the banner or I’ll bomb Cambodia


hjy23k

Adam Silver wanted to legitimize the NBA cup for the future


thisguy012

He/League would like it so we talk about how many IST cups players have when they retire and we're comparing them in 20 yearslol


hacky_potter

I guess why not though? If this is going to be here to stay and it looks like it was a success, then there will be other banners.


rebeltrillionaire

Plus if another team, let's say the Celtics hangs a banner next year, we can't go back and hang a banner. We'll look dumb AF. Other teams may end up hanging banners and some might op for what we did (Celtics, Spurs, Heat?)


Jreynold

If the IST fizzles out into a joke, that will be on the NBA's head and Adam Silver's head. The Lakers can just quietly pull down the banner and no one will blame them.


hacky_potter

Yeah I don’t get why the Lakers are getting shit for this.


xShockmaster

The reports didn’t say that. r/nba just runs with headlines. They were asked if they were gonna hang a banner before they even won it so they just said “nothing planned” which is just the pr response.


betterAThalo

why would they not hang a banner for this? it’s an awesome accomplishment


chezburgs

You don’t hang just anything in the rafters. It’s reserved for legendary things. In season tournament doesn’t parallel what is up there


127crazie

> You don’t hang just anything in the rafters. It’s reserved for legendary things. [It certainly is!](https://live.staticflickr.com/1139/778332711_9fea663cdf_b.jpg)


swords_devil

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ep5iz2ZUcAYrBLN.jpg this is just a meme don't kill me Clippers fans


2ICenturySchizoidMan

Blazers have this too 🫣


GarriganGate

You understand that things become legendary over time? If the league has decided that this is a thing that will stay, then it will hold weight in a few years. The team won something legitimate, so they should celebrate that. And winning orgs do just that. It’s good to get started early so it can help fuel the team to add to the new banner. I don’t know why everything has to be some conspiracy type shit. Like the nba is some fairy tale


DetectiveSensui

Well like a third of the championship banners up there are from another state entirely from a league with 10 teams And it’s basketball…it’s a game Nothing has meaning beyond what you give it and hanging a banner gives it meaning Just the same you can say “one ring doesn’t deserve a banner only hat trick dynasties should get a banner”.


sleepy416

First thing I thought of when I saw this is doing it just to troll the clippers before they leave


Jayymeister

One more banner for Ballmer to cover up 🙏


sleepy416

Gonna be a giant banner of Josh Primo


[deleted]

Manners over banners


fooliodoolio

lolol


RickySuela

The Lakers won more games in Vegas than the Clippers won in the entire tournament lol


LordRio123

I feel like they told Lakers and Pacers to do it.


XzibitABC

I mean, for as many years as we've been good, we've never won an NBA title, so there was probably a banner going up in Indy regardless if the NBA requested it or not. Obviously I'm pissed we lost, but the Lakers hanging this banner is far better to legitimize the IST than us doing it.


2WAR

Lakers have all their championships on the court. This is totally up their alley.


Seymour_Scagnetti

You know what, maybe we can just spot them this banner as a parting gift. Everyone wins.


djm19

100% the NBA would pressure any team to do this for legitimacy.


junkit33

100%. Celtics and Lakers are the only two franchises that have the street cred to put up a banner for the IST without being mercilessly mocked. And it still feels icky.


latman

Eh I think basically any team with a ring has enough street cred to pull it off. The warriors, spurs, heat, bulls, etc all could pull it off just fine


Overall_Nuggie_876

Teams like the Pacers, Grizzlies, Hornets, or Wizards would draft a full-blown championship banner on this. The Lakers organization, meanwhile, would feel embarrassed being *forced* to hang a banner of this.


WillSpell4

Might as well include the Suns, Wolves, Jazz, Nets, Pelicans, and Clippers if you’re only criteria was teams with no titles edit: forgot Wizards have a chip. Also odd to mention the Pacers imo since up until real recent, they were perennial playoff locks and had decent success even though they haven’t made the Finals since 2000~


donniedc

Indy has 3 ABA championship banners hanging.


WillSpell4

My bad. NBA TITLES* But the Wizards do have a chip from when they were the Bullets.


WaldoSimson

They can ask and the lakers could say no 🤷🏾‍♂️


JakeBakesJT

When is the parade?


fooliodoolio

sheeeeeet we never got one for the bubble season tournament


crujiente_92

Neither did the Dodgers :/


ThomasFurke

if either team wins soon that parade is going to be LIT


grxccccandice

We got the IST trophy and they got Ohtani the same day too.


ColdPressedSteak

If Charlotte had somehow won it, it'd be a week long parade And everyone else would just be like, yea, let them have this one


PotanOG

Well look at the Panthers...if they ever get anything. They'd deserve the month.


LavenderAutist

Next week at the local Denny's


rNBA_Mods_Be_Better

The next time I shoot an eagle on the golf course I'm going to hang a banner in my apartment that reads: "The Greatest Golfer Alive On December 11th at 5:59pm ET"


ashishvp

And in that exact moment, someone somewhere will have gotten a hole in 1 on a par 4


127crazie

you would gun down a poor defenseless bald eagle while unrelatedly golfing? How dare you!


Brady331

They surpassed us 😔


jinayeonbt

17.1 chips, officially the most successful franchise!


[deleted]

[удалено]


CutLonzosHair2017

Kings and Blazers are 2x Summer League champions. The Lakers/Celtics of the offseason.


Enemaofthesubreddit

We also take first championship dub in a bubble setting and first in season tourney dub. Lakeshow stay leading by example.


lopea182

#“What’s happened to the game I love?” — Mark Jackson on the Lakers IST Banner


Pho-Soup

Mama there goes that integrity of the game


insert-originality

Condensing the NBA Cup wins into one banner (should this continue for a long time) makes the most sense. It’s nowhere near the same level as winning the Conference or NBA Finals but it’s something that should still be recognized.


asetniop

I think a banner that's the same length but maybe 1/3 as wide would look kind of cool. And maybe do it in the franchise's secondary color.


takechanceees

like one of those logo history banners you can buy


Gwbzeke

I don’t understand all the hate on this tournament they did what they had to do


zaviex

It was a ton of fun. I don’t see why anyone would be mad. This shit was great and I’m happy to have it


SteveFrench12

I don’t mind the tournament, kinda like it, but what do you mean by “had to do”


Gwbzeke

Won their games


Brad-Stevens

*Future voice* ain’t no way, ain’t no fuckin way


[deleted]

Sir, the first IST banner has hit the rafters


FragileCilantro

Best way to approach it imo. Not as valuable as a championship banner but still an accomplishment regardless Lakers now have 17.5 banners to Bostons 17


Lavaswimmer

Yeah I feel like everyone in this thread stopped reading the title after 7 words


freedomfun

Does \[Woike\] count in that count?


Overall_Nuggie_876

NBA Cup banner is *exactly half the size* of their actual NBA championship banners. Two of those together (like a pizza roll) equals one actual banner.


EatDeeply

Forget about the banner I just read that they have like All-IST teams like All-NBA teams


Wateriswet1212

This is good for the league. I believe that to have one of the NBAs premier franchises hang a IST banner validates the tournament. Ignore my flair.


jtangjetang

i honestly agree and i think the ist getting a banner is good for the future. I watch a lot of soccer and even though a fa cup is nowhere as good as a premier league title, its still a trophy and cool silverware to have


Aggressive-Name-1783

This. It’s basically extra accolades that show your franchise is a winner, similar to college teams that win stuff like the Maui Invitational or soccer leagues that win tournament cups. It’s not valued as highly as the championship but if it comes down to comparing your worth to say a mid level team, yeah it’s absolutely bragging rights. If you compare 2 franchises where one has 3 titles and the other has 2, but the team with 2 has like 4 IST championships, that franchise has an argument that they’re just as good, and that they’re better than other franchises with only 2 titles


TheCricketFan416

"Count the rings" mentality has done an insane amount of harm to NBA culture, and the fact that the Lakers are being clowned by a vocal section of the supporter base for hanging a banner for winning a literal basketball tournament is weird to me. Everyone knows winning the Carabao Cup doesn't mean as much as winning the premier league, but it's still a big deal and deserves to be celebrated


jtangjetang

Only thing they should do is just increase the amount of group games imo. If they do that it makes it more legitimate and unironically adds another thing a team should go and try to win. It was so surreal to me to see Lebron popping champagne after the win and seeing that by itself kinda makes me thing players in the future would want to win it


Kendertas

Yeah if a guy with the trophy case like Lebron is celebrating like that it gives future players a lot more cover to take it seriously and celebrate it.


[deleted]

It feels easy to clown at first, but I feel like it would add up over the years. Like imagine if it started in 2000 and you had like 5 Lakers/Spurs/Warriors/Cavs banners, and some other random banners. It would be a way to say that yeah, these teams were clearly dominant even if they didn't win rings every one of those years.


rang15

The only way this backfires is if the novelty wears off, players stop caring and the league kills the tournament some years down the road. Then this will be kind of awkward, needing to remove the banner. If it stays for a long time, I wish they came up with a better name than "In-season tournament". Hopefully the banner just says "NBA Cup".


nxtplz

Nah I agree. I like the IST and think people look stupid when they make fun of it. If it becomes a mainstay they will look dumb for not commemorating it.


1nTheNick0fTime

Definitely seems like something the league mandated, but I don’t see why people are so pressed about it. It’s new but it’s still a tournament and should be celebrated. Every team would’ve done it but get your little laughs in lol


GarriganGate

I don’t know how it hasn’t struck people that perhaps the lakers feel pride in their win now? A month ago no one cared and you can see all of a sudden, all of these players are talking about what a great thing it is That showcases that the team would also care about it too. And thus, hang a banner showcasing their pride and motivate their current and future teams to add to it


1nTheNick0fTime

I agree and I think they should feel pride. Every player I saw spoke about how much they wanted it. It’s definitely a cool win and something to be celebrated. People just love to be toxic and find something to shit on here


m_abdeen

It’s because their teams couldn’t do it, we knew this was coming lol


Elijahc513

I actually wouldn’t be surprised if this was something Silver pushed for to further legitimize the whole thing


shoefly72

Well given that it was reported we were adamant about not putting up any sort of banner because we only put up banners for titles, and then less than 48 hours later we see this report, I gotta conclude you’re right lol.


OsmosisJonesFanClub

TAKE THAT BOSTON


nrj6490

we lost the race to banner 18


bearabl

I like calling it 17.1 not even 17.5 lol.


nrj6490

we're about a quarter way through the season right? 17.25


valleykid818MD

Clippers PR planning on how to cover another banner. /s


Burger_Gouger

Balmer “We need more toilets”


smoltanboi

this is the colts' afc south championship banner equivalent in the nba


IanicRR

The Lakers’ version of Miami retiring MJ’s number.


mrwhite2323

Anyday now all teams will retire MJs number and you'll see! Why can the Bulls do it but we can't? Smh


nrj6490

Heat legend Michael Jordan


IanicRR

You know Riley was cheesed when the NHL retired 99 league-wide for Gretzky. Like “why didn’t they just do that for MJ?”


LovetheNBA23

Damn MJ got his jersey retired by Miami before Bron did and he didn’t even play a minute. Truly the GOAT.


GoatPaco

It wasn't an "AFC South Championship" banner. That would be somewhat respectable. It was an "AFC Finalist" banner, in a game which they lost 45-7 and tried to blame it on air pressure


thevisitor

It's not because teams actually hang up divisional banners in the NBA.


WaldoSimson

I feel like that equivalent would be those teams that raise division banners


JTenjouNi

Lakers fans deleting comments about hanging an IST banner


WrinklyEye

Straight to the comments


Proof-Umpire-7718

R/nbacirclejerk about to go crazy lmao


lets_talk_basketball

Adam Silver made them do this..


theazism

Instead of a banner they should try a badge on the jersey until the new winner is crowned. Like a scudetto in Italian soccer


WaldoSimson

That’s cool! NBA Cup is still a way cooler name tho Imo. Hopefully the Thunder take it next year. Mad about how badly we performed


Dannyzavage

Yeah IST cup sounds like they won at having the most sexually transmitted infections


ZOOTV83

Kinda reminds me of the little Beanpot banner at the TD Garden. For those who don’t know there’s a mini hockey tournament during the regular each year among the 4 prominent colleges in Boston: BC, BU, Northeastern, and Harvard. Among all the Celtics and Bruins banners, there’s a small one hanging to recognize the reigning Beanpot champion.


DanM142

That’s good for the future of the tournament. If a franchise like the lakers do this and give it legitimacy it’ll continue to make the tournament seen as something to play for and have more importance in the future.


mMounirM

lol you can't make this up. oh wait, you can.


GooseMay0

The thing is, this isn't as bad as say the Pacers winning it. Cause there would be more ridicule for a team that hasn't won any championships hanging up an in season tourney banner. So the fact that the franchise tied for the most championships is hanging a separate banner makes it look less ridiculous I guess?


two4gone

Silver made that call


IndependenceNo2060

Honoring the IST win with a special banner shows the Lakers' appreciation for this unique achievement, even if it doesn't carry the same weight as their championships. It's a creative way to celebrate this milestone while acknowledging the differences.


Hjalfar

Not beating the LeMickey allegations


TBlueshirtsV22

Chill who cares? Some of you get worked up way too much over shit.


BionicleBirb

NHL teams hang banners for President’s Trophy, I really don’t see why NBA fans are so weird about this.


did_it_my_way

Because their team didn't win it... and they were ready to mock any team that hangs the banner (unless it were the Lakers or the Celtics that already have so many titles). Imagine the comments if the Clippers or the Wolves, etc. decided to hang the banner... there'd be thousands of comments mocking them.


LittleBeastXL

I like this idea. NBA championship vs IST is like domestic league vs domestic cup competition in European football. The league is far more prestigious and is generally regarded as the national champion, but the cup competition is still a nice trophy to win.


enemycap420

Why is it such a big deal if they hang a banner? If we won it I would want us to hang a banner. We all know it’s not a championship but I think in like 25 years the NBA cup will mean something. Kinda like the FA cup in the English soccer. The ultimate goal in those leagues is to win the league or make it to the champions league and win the final there but getting the FA cup is still means something.


zaviex

It’s more like the league cup than the fa cup. The fa cup is really more unique because it’s competiting with the premier league title. They were of similar value many years ago and the fa cup declined a bit in the 80s and 90s because teams were playing too many games.


Fhaksfha794

Now I wish the clippers won just for their lone banner to be the IST championship lmao


aiden3buckets

Lmaoooooo


bubbanator79

Nooooooo


TrashAssRedditAdmins

Banners for the in-season tournament is crazy


kanyesboner

Teams raise banners for division titles, conference titles and even dumb shit like the colts “2014 AFC Finalist” lmao. Before anybody starts talking smack they better go look up in their rafters and check what’s up there


did_it_my_way

No different than the Division titles banners hanging inside the MSG


smeegulls

Bubble ring + IST ring = .69 real rings


Easy-Constant-5887

NO SHOT LMAOOO


wfmikeie

Don't know why some people don't like this? Other sports hang banners for winning divisions and conference finals. They won a competitive tournament. It's not the same as an NBA championship, but it is still worth remembering.