Knicks, Spurs bringing winning mentality to NBA Cup championship game: ‘There’s a lot at stake’

LAS VEGAS — The magic of the NBA Cup, for all the internal and external pushes to make this in-season tournament a success, lies in the significance of the insignificant.

For instance, recent history indicates there isn’t a strong correlation between a deep tournament run and playoff success. The Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks, winners of the 2023 and 2024 editions of the NBA Cup, respectively, were eliminated in the first round of the postseason just five months later.

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Still, Tuesday night’s Spurs-Knicks tilt (8:30 p.m. ET, Prime Video) offers a unique blend of markets, approaches and overall organizational goals — and it should be a celebration of the diversity in teams that the league embraces.

Victor Wembanyama has returned from injury to lead the Spurs to the NBA Cup title game. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

(Ethan Miller via Getty Images)

In one corner, the Knicks, in the NBA’s largest market, were assembled with aggression, precision and arrogance. New York attracts stars and is hell-bent on winning a championship sooner rather than later. It’s a city full of passionate fans desperate for something, anything they can claim as their own.

“I’ve been a Knick fan my whole life,” rapper and actor Ja Rule told Yahoo Sports. “I was born in ‘76 and they ain’t never won s***. So I’m here praying that at least we can get the in-season cup.”

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In the other corner, the Spurs, in one of the league’s smallest markets, were built on patience, timing and a bit of luck. The organization built through the draft, with the hope that the pieces in place will create a sustainable model of success for years to come. San Antonio doesn’t possess the gravitational pull that New York does, but it has Victor Wembanyama, the game’s most interesting and talented player in decades.

So while both teams will naturally want to lift the NBA Cup trophy after making it this far, even if it doesn’t count for anything in the standings, there are more important things at stake once the dust settles in Vegas.

“It’s not going to be a super significant step, but still a…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/knicks-spurs-bringing-winning-mentality-to-nba-cup-championship-game-theres-a-lot-at-stake-152624555.html

Author : Kelly Iko

Publish date : 2025-12-16 15:26:00

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