The Knicks have a trophy and Wembanyama has a chip on his shoulder: Five NBA Cup takeaways

The Knicks are the East’s team to beat

Related: In-form Knicks surge past Spurs to win NBA Cup for first trophy since 1973

After toppling the defending champion Boston Celtics in a shocking upset in the Eastern Conference semi-finals this spring, The New York Knicks immediately became the favorites to represent the conference in the NBA Finals. The Indiana Pacers, a team that will no doubt go down as having one of the most compelling Cinderella stories in modern NBA history, had other plans.

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But this year, the East is more open than ever (though Knicks guard Jalen Brunson insists he’s “not a fan” of the narrative of a wide open conference). The Detroit Pistons have made a remarkable turnaround from being at the bottom of the East standings a few years ago to the top of them, but the Knicks’ showing in Cup play, ultimately hoisting the trophy in the third year of the contest, has shown what many believed heading into this season: they’re the team to beat.

Brunson continues to be every bit the superstar his franchise needs, Mikal Bridges is having a fantastic season, and (knocks on wood) they’re as healthy as they’ve been in ages. New head coach Mike Brown appears to be just the breath of fresh air the doctor ordered after things had gotten stale with Tom Thibodeau, getting more creative with the offense and going deeper with rotations, and the NBA Cup champion Knicks will certainly be heard from come April.

F your dynasty

The stage was set for Oklahoma City this weekend: on a tear, bulldozing every team in the league, and practically yawning their way to a 24-1 record, they were poised to make that 25-1 on Saturday night in the NBA Cup semif-inals.

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Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs had other plans. Wembanyama, the 7ft 5in french wunderkind who possesses an all too rare combination of zenmaster off-court tendencies with a healthy dose of Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan-esque psycho on the hardwood, clearly took being a heavy underdog personally heading into Saturday’s semi-final matchup. The game marked his first appearance in several weeks due to a calf strain, and…

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Publish date : 2025-12-17 14:37:00

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