Fact Check: Is LeBron James expecting $500K bonus from Lakers to buy premium access to favorite music app? Viral rumor debunked

A $500,000 reward awaits each member of the NBA In-Season Tournament's inaugural champion. That should surely pique the interest of NBA champions like LeBron James. However, while one can buy a lot of things with half a million bucks, having a lifetime subscription to Spotify Premium will cost just a small fraction of it.

The parody X account NBA Centel struck again on Saturday when it claimed that LeBron James told the media after the LA Lakers' win the previous night against the Portland Trail Blazers that he might utilize his share of the NBA In-Season Tournament pot to get a Spotify Premium subscription.

NBA Centel tweeted as seemingly quoted by James:

“I’m dreaming of the 500K bonus so I can finally buy Spotify Premium.”

For the nth time, you should be reminded that NBA Centel is a parody account, and virtually everything you are going to see in its timeline is purely for comic entertainment.

Also, there was no other mention that James was quoted saying the above during the post-game press conference.

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LeBron James says 3-0 start in NBA In-Season Tournament 'an incentive'

LeBron James did mention something about incentives during the post-game press conference, but it was not exactly about the prize at stake.

James was referring to the Lakers' blistering start in the NBA In-Season Tournament after going 3-0 in West Group A:

“It's an incentive for sure, this early in the season. We understand what's at stake, that's not saying we're putting all our eggs in one basket in the In-Season Tournament.”

James played through a calf contusion against the Blazers but was spectacular, finishing with 35 points on 13-of-22 field goals including 5-of-9 on threes, five rebounds, nine assists and two steals.

James also tallied the best plus-minus in the game with a plus-18. That means he made a lot of impact on the court in the Lakers' 107-95 road win against the Blazers.

Anthony Davis was just amazed at LeBron James' vintage game despite the calf injury:

“He shot the ball extremely well tonight, he was in a great rhythm, especially from 3. Made some huge plays, big time shots for us, the kind that just slowed them down.”

Now 7-6 in the regular season, the Lakers will travel back to Los Angeles to host the Houston Rockets.

The Rockets dropped a tough one against the other Hollywood-based team, the Clippers, in their previousNBA In-Season Tournament match-up.