The first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament won by the Los Angeles Lakers was a smash hit. The numbers can back up that claim, with Ronce Rajan of ESPN reporting that the title game between Los Angeles and the Indiana Pacers nearly averaged 4.6 million viewers.

“Saturday’s Los Angeles Lakers victory over the Indiana Pacers in the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament Championship Game from Las Vegas, Nev. averaged 4,580,000 viewers on ABC and ESPN2. It is the most-watched non-Christmas NBA game during the regular season on any network in nearly six years, since February of 2018, according to Nielsen.”

One of the key reasons behind the NBA's In-Season Tournament is the league's desire to add more spice to the action on the court during the regular season, and based on the general reception of the fans, it's hard to deny that the league succeeded in that mission.

Lakers-Pacers NBA In-Season Tournament title game was a huge success

The tournament also definitely benefited from a large-market team in the Lakers going all the way into the finals where LeBron James and company took down the Pacers to the tune of a 123-109 score.

Some fans will question the prestige of winning the NBA Cup, but such qualms are easily drowned by the interest generated by the tournament.

The Lakers were led by Anthony Davis in the Pacers game, as the star big man went off for 41 points and 20 rebounds, while James had 24 points and 11 boards on his way to adding yet another accomplishment to his ever-improving basketball resume.