Players Care About the NBA Cup. Does That Outweigh Complications?

LAS VEGAS — NBA ratings may be down this year, but anyone watching the Emirates NBA Cup knows past speculation that teams don’t care about winning the tournament can be ruled out. The games are evidently more intense and players are gunning for the cash prize—particularly those who aren’t making tens or hundreds of millions.

“It’s funny, a lot of people say it’s the money, and it’s not; it’s the competition. Now, the guys who aren’t playing, it’s the money. You know, I’ve never been hugged more by our rookies in my life than after that game. They were celebrating like it was a big game,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said after his team defeated the Hawks to advance to the final.

For Bucks stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard—who both make about $48 million per year—the $514,970 grand prize is less than their per-game salary (about $595,000) over an 82-game regular season. Then there are players like the Thunder’s Branden Carlson, who makes less than $1 million this year and would see his pay increase by 52% if his team wins Tuesday.

Another benefit of the tournament is it provides a simulation of playoff-level intensity during the regular season, which Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander acknowledged is important for his young team.

“Obviously, a little bit more is at stake where if you lose you go home, but games like that are good experience for us, especially with where we want to end up,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.

A Trophy Trade-Off

The money, experience, and bragging rights may be enticing, but the two finalists face some disadvantages. The NBA Cup final does not count toward a team’s 82-game schedule, meaning the Bucks and Thunder are the only two teams in the league that will play 83 games.

Every other team in the league also gets some form of extended break of about three to five days—or two games in 11 nights. The Bucks have two days off before heading to Cleveland, while the Thunder will have one day off before playing a back-to-back on the road against the two teams in Florida. 

Addressing the media on Monday, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said his team is gunning for the NBA Cup championship. But he acknowledged there is still 70% of the season left and that coming out of the final, the Thunder are facing a difficult road trip the league would, under normal circumstances, never schedule.

“We want to win. … But it will be a challenge coming out of it for both teams. … If you look at that as a road trip, it’s an unprecedented road trip. The NBA would never schedule that. They would never put a team on a six-day West Coast road trip and then fly them East for a back-to-back,” Daigneault said when FOS asked about the Thunder’s schedule.