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Four Vegas-bound teams are left on the NBA Cup knockout bracket. Which one would most value in-season glory?
The Final Four has come early this year.
One of Las Vegas’ new seasonal games is making its return to The Strip, as the NBA Cup reaches its conclusion at T-Mobile Arena. The in-season tournament featured a new winner: the previous runner-up, Oklahoma City, will look to keep rolling against San Antonio in Saturday’s prime-time Western Conference semifinal, which will be preceded by the East’s edition featuring New York and Orlando. The grand finale is staged for Tuesday, where a grand prize of just over half a million will be granted to each victor.
While the basketball world and beyond ponders the true purpose and a suitable reward for those who triumph through the December dramatics, it’s fair to wonder who among the active quartet would cherish in-season glory the most. Ballislife ranks the possibilities below …
4. Oklahoma City Thunder
The most devout follower of the Cup proceedings knows that OKC is the most recent runner-up and would assume they’d like revenge. But, at this point, seeing the Thunder in the NBA Cup feels like Liam Neeson signing on for “The Blair Witch Project.” Sure, you might get to watch something interesting, but both sides had clearly expanded beyond such offers and low-budget settings.
While the Thunder certainly wouldn’t say no to more hardware, the NBA Cup feels like something that’s in the way of their continued dominance at this point, especially considering that the potential championship win would not count toward what could become a record-breaking win total. In its purest purpose, the Cup is meant to be an introductory stage for the league’s risers. The Thunder are clearly the present. They’re probably better off letting another team have the spotlight.
3. San Antonio Spurs
It’s perhaps a shame that the NBA Cup wasn’t introduced until Gregg Popovich’s final hours: the longtime sideline miser, already in danger of serving as basketball’s Larry David, was never a fan of the game’s common courtesies (i.e., in-game interviews) and probably would have plenty to say about an in-season tournament in his prime.
San Antonio probably would be higher on this list if not for the fact that they’re facing the rumbling Thunder. Sure, two wins in Vegas would be quite a statement and would formally announce San Antonio’s return to the ranks of the NBA’s winners. But defeating the Lakers without Victor Wembanyama is a perfectly acceptable statement as is, and it feels like the Spurs will have better, more manageable chances to shine in the spotlight as the season goes on. Heck, a win over the Thunder would perhaps be a better jackpot than anything Vegas’ tables would have to offer.
THE SEMIFINALS ARE SET 🏆
Knicks vs. Magic.Spurs vs. Thunder.
It’s all going down in Las Vegas… the @emirates NBA Cup Knockout Rounds continue with the Semifinals, Saturday on Prime! pic.twitter.com/IMCjqmmdS7
— NBA (@NBA) December 11, 2025
2. Orlando Magic
The NBA Cup seems tailor-made for a team like the Magic: they’re a team that doesn’t often linger in the Association’s victorious ledgers, but they had enough confidence to compete in the advanced Eastern landscape to send a good bit of their future to Memphis in exchange for Desmond Bane. That essentially makes the ex-Grizzly the co-face of the franchise alongside Paolo Banchero, who has no doubt improved the Magic for the better, even if he doesn’t have any title beyond “All-Star” to show for it yet.
Following a tepid start, Orlando has recovered well enough to ensure that success in the tournament portion won’t make or break head coach Jamahl Mosley’s case for further employment in Central Florida. A win in the NBA Cup, especially the surging Knicks/Spurs or the steamrolling Thunder, would likely be a strong indicator that they’re on the right path.
However, the Magic have placed themselves in a position where the success of this era won’t be defined by anything but their postseason progress. Vegas’ jackpot would be suitable reassurance, but the Magic have forced themselves to play the long, patient game.
1. New York Knicks
The Knicks have accomplished plenty in the Jalen Brunson era: the earner of 29 votes in the recent metropolitan mayoral race has made Manhattan great again through his supervision of the team’s first conference finals appearance in a quarter-century. But for all Brunson has accomplished, there have been no new banner additions to Madison Square Garden’s rafters during his tenure, even if his No. 11 already seems destined to join that of Mark Messier’s up there someday.
The meme-makers of the Association would no doubt have a field day with the long-suffering Knicks unveiling an NBA Cup banner, but it stands to reason that they would benefit the most from such a title. Like San Antonio, the Knicks could make a formal statement that they’re a force to be reckoned with, to earn an appropriate victory for what they hope will be a long, lucrative era. A win near Christmas would also be a solid gift for new boss Mike Brown, who could generate some distance between himself and prior patriarch Tom Thibodeau with the addition of a named victory.
Perhaps it says more about the spot the Knicks franchise has placed itself in over the last five decades, but they’re the team among this quartet that most desperately needs a championship … no matter how manufactured.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
