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Tim Bontemps
In form of new York Knicks And orlando magic During the first of two Emirates NBA Cup semifinal games at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, there were plenty of empty seats – especially in the upper level – scattered throughout the building.
The NBA Cup, which is in its third season, has largely accomplished the objective set by commissioner Adam Silver when he first created the in-season tournament to champion the cause. It successfully spotlighted the NBA during the early part of the season, when college football and the NFL traditionally dominate the sports calendar. If for no other reason than the more than $500,000 at stake for winning the title, the players have also bought in.
What was not captured was the atmosphere of deciding a champion in the final round of the tournament. That’s why the league announced in September that 2025 would be the final Cup with semi-finals at a neutral venue, a recognition that the approach lacked the energy and excitement the league had hoped to create.
And it looks like the NBA is considering another change. Sources familiar with the situation recently told ESPN that the league is also considering moving the title game out of Las Vegas.
Beyond the future of the tournament in Las Vegas, there have been plenty of talks between the Knicks and the Knicks leading up to Tuesday night’s finale. San Antonio SpursFrom the motivation of prize money and ongoing frustrations with the schedule to the growing trend of the Knockout Round showcasing the league’s young talent, here’s what players and coaches have to say about the third installment of the NBA Cup,
Semifinal change is welcome
If the venue changes for the Cup semifinals starting this season, those matchups would have been held in Orlando and Oklahoma City as the Magic and Thunder entered the knockout stage as the top seeds in the Eastern and Western Conference brackets, respectively. Both teams lost in Vegas on Saturday.
It’s no surprise that the two coaches who would benefit — Magic coach Jamahl Mosley and Thunder coach Mark Daigneault — approved the move.
Asked about the change before Saturday’s game, Mosley smiled and said, “Oh, absolutely.” “Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of home-court advantage?
“I think it’s the same as the playoffs. You earn the right to get a higher seed… I think it’s very important.”
Saturday’s matchups could happen again in the 2026 playoffs. Orlando and New York have played some tremendous games over the past few seasons creating a new rivalry between the two franchises. Meanwhile, there is plenty of history between the Thunder and Spurs, having met in the playoffs in 2012, 2014 and 2016. young star big people Victor Wembanyama And Chet Holmgren They have faced off several times, a rivalry that began more than four years ago in a FIBA U-19 Championship game.
Imagine a scenario where Wembanyama, who has missed the last 12 games due to a calf strain, returns inside the fiery cauldron in Oklahoma City as the Thunder look to continue their record-setting start? Or if the Magic get an extra home game to play a Knicks team they might face again late in the East playoffs?
“It’s a nice change [the league]And this is further encouragement [for teams],” Daigneault said. “They want the level of these cup games to be high. Obviously, the cash prize does that. Branding difference or whatever that does. They are on TV. They are kept in isolation for a few nights. He has done good work there.
“But I think if you can potentially get an extra home game out of it, it’s really more incentive to go after those games.”
Money remains a motivating factor
There was a lot of discussion in the last few days about whether each player should be given a cash prize and what they would do with the money won by their team.
,[Jaylin Williams] Reminds us of the exact dollar amount every day.” Thunder Forward jalen williams That was said Friday, a day before OKC lost to the Spurs in a thrilling semifinal game.
“Half a million dollars is a lot of money, even if you make what I make or whatever the case may be, you know what I mean. It’s enough money to keep you going and working hard.”
After this, San Antonio made it to the knockout round of the tournament with the win. denver nuggetsmoves forward keldon johnson Said, “For $500,000, I’ll play back-to-back-to-back. I’ll run through a wall.”
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A major motivator among players is to offer the chance for life-changing money to teammates on a two-way contract or to young guys at the end of the roster.
“We don’t talk about its value [to the two-way players] “That’s as much as it really is,” Mavericks guard D’Angelo Russell Said. “A lot of people didn’t really need it [were motivated] “Knowing that those people will get an extra piece of cake.”
This has been a common practice for the last few years Lebron James And anthony davis two years ago and then damian lillard He spoke openly about his happiness at seeing those end-of-roster players get more money last year.
“A lot of people in the league don’t fund all the franchise players, the superstars,” Sons added. Ryan Dunn Said. “To get that chance, to have that opportunity is huge for him.”
“You want to win for them [two-way] friends.”
The schedule – and the frustrations about it – aren’t changing
This month, several team executives complained about the shortened schedule as the league tried to fit Cup games into the early part of the NBA calendar.
There’s just one problem: The data doesn’t support it.
Through Sunday night action, 354 games had been played this season – four fewer games than the same point last season and more than two seasons before the inclusion of in-season tournaments.
Meanwhile, there are five games left in seven days from last season, and overall, they will be fewer than 2024-25. But to play the knockout rounds, teams have had several days off in the last two weeks, with those dates having to be made up at some point during the regular season.
Additional travel was an immediate concern for teams playing in Las Vegas. Last year, Oklahoma City was coming off of its Cup title game loss to back-to-back sets against Orlando and Florida. Miami Heatlast month, milwaukee bucks Coach Doc Rivers describes the loss his team suffered from winning the 2024 NBA Cup.
“I think the attention it’s gotten is amazing,” Rivers said. “Now, I will say, on the back end of it, the team that won it has had to struggle to come out. I learned that last year. It’s tough.”
This season, the Magic would have faced a 16-day road trip if they had beaten the Knicks on Saturday — Orlando begins a four-game Western road trip Thursday against the Denver Nuggets.
“Take it to New York,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said, smiling. “I’d like that. Let someone else fly that way for six hours or whatever. You know, again, Vegas is great. But to get it around. …
“In the beginning, I doubted them on the Cup, in the beginning, I doubted them in the play-in games, and they’re both phenomenal. So, I don’t really know what I’m talking about, so I’m going to leave it to Adam [Silver],
Cup spotlight remains a springboard
Last season, the Thunder were in the early stages of their historic championship season when they traveled to Las Vegas for the NBA Cup Semifinals. And although the Thunder played one of their worst games of the season in the title game against the Bucks, OKC guard Jalen Williams said the experience helped prepare the young team for the bright lights of the NBA Finals.
“It’s like, right now, with the media frenzy, I’ll stay here for hours after practice,” Williams said Friday. “Just similar things happened in the finals. Same thing happened during the playoffs. It gave us a good idea of what to expect.
“The biggest thing is how to use my time wisely, know when to seek treatment and still stick to a routine. We have to practice it, we have to get used to it.”
Perhaps the biggest benefit of the cup is allowing emerging teams to showcase themselves on the big stage.
two years ago, when Indiana Pacers Green boston celtics And on the way to the Cup Championship game against the Bucks Los Angeles Lakerspacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton Emerged in national headlines. Indiana’s Cup experience helped the team prepare for Game 7 of the 2025 Finals in what ultimately turned out to be an exciting race.
still Houston RocketsDespite losing to the Thunder in the Cup semi-finals last year, there was a young team that got a taste of the big stage ahead of a tough seven-game clash against the Thunder. Golden State Warriors In the first round of the playoffs.
For teams like Orlando, which has not won a playoff series since 2010, and San Antonio, which has not made the playoffs since 2019, the Cup provides an opportunity to experience the pressure of a one-game scenario.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity to play on this stage,” Magic star paolo banchero Said. “You can just tell with all the stuff going on.”
For the young Spurs and coach Mitch Johnson, the road to the NBA Cup title game represents the biggest challenge the group has faced.
“I think we all go into any part of our lives, personally, professionally, where experience usually helps you gain some wisdom,” Johnson said.
“We’re kind of trying to take it all day by day and know that it’s a lot of unknowns, for a lot of us, not just individually but for most of us as a group. … Don’t try to make more of it than it is, but also allow it to have a positive impact.”
ESPN’s Tim McMahon, Dave McMenamin and Michael C. Wright contributed to this report.
