Local NBA rising star D’Moi Hodge has won his first trophy since signing with the Los Angeles Lakers after his team defeated the Indiana Pacers 123-109 to be crowned the first NBA In-Season Cup winners.
While Hodge did not play in the finals, he has played 6 regular-season games so far.
Star player LeBron James was awarded the Most Valuable Player (MVP) trophy for his performance throughout the tournament.
For winning the tournament, each player will receive a bonus of $500,000 to add to their annual salary.
Hodge who is a two-way player will benefit tremendously from the prize money, as he will earn in excess of one million dollars in his first NBA season.
However, following a 54 percent deduction of the $500,000 due to taxes in the state of California, Hodge will only receive $231,000 of the bonus money.