As we prepare for Saturday\u2019s semifinals and Tuesday\u2019s final, our reporters spoke with more than a dozen coaches and players around the league to gauge their thoughts on the tournament. (Questions and responses have been lightly edited for clarity.)<\/p>\n
In Year 3, how has the attitude toward the NBA Cup shifted? How seriously is the cup taken by fellow players and why\/why not?<\/p>\n
Lu Dort, Oklahoma City Thunder guard:<\/strong> \u201cI like it. It\u2019s fun. Obviously, we are playing for something \u2014 which is entertaining, especially in the middle of the season \u2014 and the team gets to go to Vegas. It was a nice experience last year. We didn\u2019t finish the job, but just the experience overall was amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n Chris Finch, Minnesota Timberwolves coach:<\/strong> \u201cI do sense it amongst the league players (that appreciation for the NBA Cup is growing). Yeah, I really do. I mean, players talk about it openly. I think it\u2019s a perfect shot in the arm at this point in the early start of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks guard:<\/strong> \u201cI think there is competitive basketball night in and night out. There\u2019s a little added juice to it knowing what\u2019s at stake. If you win, you move on and try to win something. We have a lot of guys and coaches who don\u2019t make as much as some guys on this team, so it\u2019s an added bonus for them, as well. You\u2019re not just playing for yourself, you\u2019re playing for the entire team.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Knicks guard Jalen Brunson defends Raptors guard Jamal Shead during Tuesday\u2019s NBA Cup quarterfinal in Toronto. (Cole Burston \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n Doc Rivers, Milwaukee Bucks coach:<\/strong> \u201cI think it\u2019s a benefit, for sure. I think the attention that it gets has been amazing. I think the players see that court down, and it brings energy. \u2026 Now, I will say, on the back end of it, the team that has won it has struggled coming out. I found that last year, it\u2019s hard. I was looking at the schedule when it first came out, and I thought, if we won the Cup, I think we had one day off, and then we would have had to play; that\u2019s going to be hard to do. That\u2019s like throwing the game away, really. Other than that, the benefits are all pluses.\u201d<\/p>\n Stephon Castle, San Antonio Spurs guard:<\/strong> \u201cI think everybody\u2019s taking it pretty serious, with what the stakes are, what the rewards are. And again, being able to play in big-time games (the Spurs played the Lakers in the quarterfinal round Wednesday night), it just amplifies the regular season a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n Jamahl Mosley, Orlando Magic coach:<\/strong> \u201cI think it means a lot for our guys. They take it extremely seriously. \u2026 But these guys, they lock in on a different level because they know what you get on the back end of it. The competitive nature that these guys have just for playing regular games, but also knowing that there\u2019s something on the back end of it, turns it up a little bit more.\u201d<\/p>\n How motivated are you by the \u2018prize\u2019 for winning the cup? Is there something else that would be better or more motivating?<\/p>\n Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers guard:<\/strong> \u201cI think that people want to win more money. I think that\u2019s the main goal.\u201d<\/p>\n Harrison Barnes, Spurs forward:<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019m excited. I want us to go to Vegas. That\u2019s what our focus is.\u201d<\/p>\n Maxi Kleber, Lakers forward:<\/strong> \u201cPeople take it seriously. They want to win, they want to go out (to Vegas). Obviously, you still have the NBA championship, but this is just like another competition in midseason. In the long season, where you have a lot of games, that gives you a little bit of a competitive extra boost.\u201d<\/p>\n Miles McBride, Knicks guard:<\/strong> \u201cI love when guys get to the highest level of competing. I feel like it can get a little mundane at the start of the season. Everyone is trying to find a rhythm. Cup games are more high-stakes.\u201d<\/p>\n Jaden McDaniels, Timberwolves guard:<\/strong> \u201cWhen I see the court, I\u2019m like, \u2018It\u2019s time to win the money.\u2019 We ain\u2019t been to Vegas one time. At least come in first, second or third, and we get a little bit of money. So, whichever (place) we come in, I\u2019m cool. We get a little wire transfer.\u201d<\/p>\n Dort:<\/strong> \u201cAny time you play for something, it\u2019s huge. There is stuff you can get just by playing basketball, which is even better. If you get a chance to win something, it\u2019s nice.\u201d<\/p>\n How much does the NBA Cup schedule inconvenience a player\/team? And how much relevance is there to the \u2018cup slump\u2019 theory?<\/p>\n Rivers:<\/strong> \u201cI wish it was a little later. I think (it\u2019s) conditioning in players, and I wish on the back end of it, that was your break. You can figure out a way of taking a break. I even talked to the guys at the league about maybe putting that right before All-Star break, and then you go into the break. I think that would be a fantastic way of doing it, but the All-Star break is so deep (into the season) now that I don\u2019t know if you do it that way, either.<\/p>\n The only downfall \u2014 and I talked to (Bucks assistant coach) Darvin (Ham) about it \u2014 is coming out of it, you\u2019re in trouble. \u2026 If I could have done last year over, then I would have sat the whole team. \u2026 You\u2019re on this high, and then you get back to the regular season and the team you\u2019re playing hasn\u2019t played. They\u2019re sitting there waiting for you.\u201d<\/p>\n Jake LaRavia, Lakers forward:<\/strong> \u201cI don\u2019t think (players view it as an inconvenience). Again, just because you have that chance to win that half a million (dollars). You\u2019ve got one extra game, and then everything else is just pretty much a regular-season standings (game).\u201d<\/p>\n Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat coach:<\/strong> \u201cI hope we have that challenge. I don\u2019t know because we never have.\u201d<\/p>\n Mosley:<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019d love to get there to tell you afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n Luka Don\u010di\u0107 recently said the NBA Cup courts pose a safety issue<\/a>. Between the design and such concerns, what are players\u2019 actual feelings about the courts?<\/p>\n Jonathan Isaac, Magic forward:<\/strong> \u201cI would say (they\u2019re) a little bit of a distraction, and that\u2019s just me personally. Minnesota\u2019s court was like you could see the colors coming off the ground onto the players\u2019 jerseys and stuff (on TV). That\u2019s just a little much. I feel like if we tone it down just a little bit, it\u2019d be better.\u201d<\/p>\n Take a look at the @Timberwolves<\/a>‘ vibrant @emirates<\/a> NBA Cup court! \ud83d\udc9a<\/p>\n \ud83c\udd9a UTA-MIN \u2022 West Group A![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-2250380950-scaled.jpg\")
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\ud83c\udfc6 @emirates<\/a> NBA Cup
\u23f3 8pm\/et on NBA League Pass pic.twitter.com\/DoCZfjj1uL<\/a><\/p>\n