Which team will win the first ever NBA Cup?

[wagexslave]

All this talk about who will win the Larry O'Brien, but people are forgetting that there's 2 championships now. The NBA Cup is finally here, which team will take home the first ever?

I'm excited for this tbh. It will be the ultimate type of championship if a team manages to win both in 1 season. Like it would be so dope if my Suns finally won a championship and they managed to also win the first ever NBA cup as well this year, that's the dream.

[Full Court]

Orlando.

[FultzNationRISE]

Orlando.

Not a bad prediction.

The vet-laden contending teams probably arent going to take it very seriously but the younger up and coming teams are more likely to. I could def see the Magic as the team that wins the in-season cup.

[Kblaze8855]

In 30 years, we will probably be seeing stats on how many mid season tournament winners went on to win the title. The NBA is thinking long. They know we won’t care. They’re probably aiming for the fans coming up behind all of us who won’t remember a time before it.

[wagexslave]

I think vet teams will take it very serious once they're actually in the tournament knowing only 1 team gets to win. At the end of the day it's tournament style basketball that results in a trophy. It will be competitive like the playoffs. Every team is gonna want to be the 1 team who wins it and have that spotlight and bragging rights, just like with the O'Brien, and winning it AND the championship would make it extra special.

The trophy might be looked at as a joke compared to the Larry O Brien at first, but it will definitely matter. Especially once fans get used to it being a yearly thing. After all, outside of the playoffs, this is the only other "meaningful" basketball we've ever had in the NBA. So players will get judged by how they perform in it. Look at the Play-In. People hated on it at first, now a lot of people love it, because it's competitive and the stakes are high.

I've heard that Soccer has in-season cup tournaments and soccer fans love them and winning taken is taken very serious as an accolade.

[theman93]

Orlando.

My man. :cheers:

[FKAri]

I've come around to the idea of the cup. I still don't like it but understand that it's necessary. Because the alternative is to make the season shorter. If you do neither, the regular season will continue to become devalued with load management and coasting. Eventually people will lose interest in regular season ball and ratings will plummet. Something had to be done and these small rules to force people to suit up were not going to get it done.

[bison]

Anyone could win it but since the in-season tournament games also count as regular season games it’s likely whoever is playing the best basketball in November and December which is likely not going to be the same team playing the best basketball by May. We usually see a random team like Utah start off hot out the gate, and then are out of the playoff picture by the end of the season. A team like that could theoretically win the in-season cup if motivated enough. The real incentive is for teams on the come up who want to show potential and be attractive for free agents in the off season, much less for teams that are already designated contenders like the suns and bucks.

[ArbitraryWater]

No one cares bro

[Full Court]

No one cares bro

Bro, we care about it just as much as we care about the all star game!

[Wally450]

Anyone could win it but since the in-season tournament games also count as regular season games it’s likely whoever is playing the best basketball in November and December which is likely not going to be the same team playing the best basketball by May. We usually see a random team like Utah start off hot out the gate, and then are out of the playoff picture by the end of the season. A team like that could theoretically win the in-season cup if motivated enough. The real incentive is for teams on the come up who want to show potential and be attractive for free agents in the off season, much less for teams that are already designated contenders like the suns and bucks.

Seems pretty stupid to me.

[Xiao Yao You]

Seems pretty stupid to me.

agreed

[highwhey]

it would be a very Suns thing to win it and later on lose in the 2nd round of the playoffs.

[Jasper]

Bro, we care about it just as much as we care about the all star game!

lmfao