The New York Knicks (18-7) and San Antonio Spurs (18-7) will clash in the 2025 NBA Cup Final on Tuesday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Either the Knicks or Spurs will be crowned the third NBA Cup champions, after the Los Angeles Lakers (2023) and Milwaukee Bucks (2024) won the first two editions of the NBA’s new in-season tournament.
Both teams are in red-hot form entering the big game. While the Knicks have won nine of their last 10 games, including five in a row, the Spurs have won seven of their previous nine contests, six of which came without Victor Wembanyama in the lineup.
While the Spurs knocked off the reigning NBA champions, the Thunder, to punch their ticket to the final, the Knicks beat the Magic in the other semifinal. Since both games were closely contested, it’s fair to suggest that the Spurs and Knicks are battle-tested.
How to Watch NBA Cup Final
The Knicks vs. Spurs NBA Cup Final will tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET, streaming worldwide on Amazon Prime Video. For fans without access to Prime Video, the NBA will provide minute-by-minute coverage of the game across its social media channels and apps.
The Knicks enter the game as -2.5 favorites, per DraftKings, even though both teams have identical records at the 25-game mark of the season. Oddsmakers have likely given the edge to the Knicks due to their experience of playing in big games, after Jalen Brunson and Co. reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season.
The Spurs, meanwhile, have missed the playoffs for six consecutive years and view Tuesday’s game as a “stepping stone” moment for their young core.
“We know that this is a process, a long process,” star guard De’Aaron Fox admitted on the eve of the game, via NBA.com. “We’re continuing to get better. Some would say we’re a little bit ahead of schedule, but I think we’re right where we need to be.”
NBA Cup Final Prize Money
While the game will not count against the regular-season record for either team, there’s a sizeable monetary reward at stake for every roster member.
Each member of the winning team will walk away with a prize money of $530,933, while the runner-ups will be rewarded with $212,373 apiece. That payday may not mean a lot to superstars like Brunson or Wembanyama, but the same can’t be said for the 10th or 11th members of the respective rosters, as noted by The Athletic.
“Knicks guard Tyler Kolek told The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III that he’d buy a car for his father with the prize money. Spurs wing Keldon Johnson told The Athletic’s Jared Weiss that he’d get a llama for his Texas ranch.”
The NBA Cup has also proven to be a launching pad for teams to make deep playoff runs. During the 2023-24 season, for example, the Indiana Pacers shocked the world by reaching the Eastern Conference Finals after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the inaugural NBA Cup Final. Similarly, the Oklahoma City Thunder hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy after losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in the second NBA Cup Final. Incidentally, the two victors were knocked out of the first round in the subsequent playoffs, but the losers made the most of the midseason pressure-cooker experience.
Tuesday’s clash is the highest-stakes Knicks vs. Spurs matchup since the 1999 NBA Finals, when Tim Duncan led San Antonio to the first of five titles. Incidentally, that matchup also marked the last time New York competed for a championship.
Could Tuesday’s game be a harbinger of a potential NBA Finals rematch?
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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