On Saturday night in Las Vegas, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers to claim victory in the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament.

Their superstars carried them to victory, with LeBron James averaging 24 points, 11 boards, and 4 assists in addition to taking home tournament MVP honors and Anthony Davis racking up an unbelievable 41 points and 20 rebounds.

Despite being sick with the flu, Austin Reaves had a career-best performance in a bench role. On 9-of-15 shooting, he tallied 28 points, 2 boards, and 3 assists.

Reaves, who was an undrafted free agent in the past, discussed the significance of winning the first NBA Cup.

I am deeply grateful. I have talked a lot about it. Helping other kids who were in a similar situation as mine when we were growing up is the most important thing. Coming from a community of 1,100 people, I can tell you that very few individuals make it past high school. Some people may choose to attend university in your town, remain there for the rest of their lives, and then work in or around your neighborhood.

But the most important thing is showing youngsters that everything is possible if you put your mind to it; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Walking around school shrieking my desire to play in the NBA undoubtedly made a lot of people look at me funny. What they believed was irrelevant to me. I was simply going to pursue that no matter what.

Being the first team to ever win this event means something to the fans, as L.A. is a city that is used to winning no matter what. Reaves is aware of this.

I am deeply grateful. As far as sports go, Los Angeles is second to none. One, it’s nice to be in a city that loves basketball, but it’s nice to be anywhere that likes sports. We should be able to host the city championships in every sport, right?

Even though this isn’t the NBA Finals, Reaves is still determined to win big in any way he can.

This is fantastic. Being the first to achieve something, win something, or accomplish something is always awesome. The money is nice, but we play every game as a team with the goal of winning, whether it’s a tournament or a regular season game. It is quite awesome that we were able to win the first one.

The Lakers’ defense thwarted the Pacers, according to Reaves.

With the best offense in the league and victories over top-tier opponents like the 76ers, Celtics, and Bucks, the Pacers entered the championship game riding high.

Reaves thinks the Lakers’ defense was a deciding factor in the win because it allowed them to slow down Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers.

They were up 99 points with two or one and a half minutes to go in the game. Regardless of Cam’s stats, I considered him one of the best players on the court tonight due to the way he pressed, blocked their shots, and slowed down the other team’s offense. This is especially true when facing the league’s best offense and a player like Tyrese, who is so efficient and plays the game his way.

Everyone seems to be very set on finishing the current mission. If so, we think we have what it takes to be top-notch.