USA Today via Reuters
Months after the In-Season Tournament success, Richard Jefferson batted for LeBron James & Co. While the introduction of the tournament caused doubts in the minds of many NBA legends, it all vanished after the massive success. James’ Los Angeles Lakers took home the money bag and trophy for the inaugural season. But Jefferson felt that the prize money wasn’t justified. And in an attempt to seek financial justice for the LA players, he voiced his opinion.
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The former teammate of LeBron James didn’t just quote the prize money as $1 million per player. He roped in the Warriors’ star power forward Draymond Green to back his demand. Jefferson added, “I believe it was Draymond that was like, ‘Yo, weren’t they supposed to get a million dollars per player?’.”
In reality, however, each player in the Lakers’ roster received $500,000. On the other hand, King James decorated the tournament and pulled in more eyeballs with his balling prowess. He won the MVP award for the tournament by averaging 26.4 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. And to top it all, he helped the team have a clean 7-0 run to win the event.
While Jefferson opted for a subtle approach to criticize the league, DrayMagic took the highway.
Draymond Green raised his concern over the prize money
In April 2023, the league announced the prize money for the In-season Tournament. The NBA insider, Shams Charania, took to his X handle and dropped the details about it. It was enough to lighten up Draymond Green’s eyes.
He immediately reposted Charania’s message and took a dig at the league. He wrote, “What happened to the 1mm they said when this idea was first introduced?!?! sheesh we lost 500k there too! “
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The Golden State Warriors star pointed out the initial idea to award each player with a million dollars. A few years ago, the idea of the league floated in the NBA world and many rumored that the prize money of $1 million per player also made circulation. So, Green did make sense with his comical dig at the league.
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While Jefferson argued that the league should award $1 million per player, considering the success of the tournament, will the league adhere to it? Let us know in the comments below.
