5 Reasons Why the NBA Cup Matters

There are a lot of people out there who have asked in recent weeks, “What’s the point of the NBA Cup?” These curmudgeons denigrate the NBA’s newest flagship event every chance they can, probably because they need something to fill the time until Marley’s ghost visits them on Christmas. Me? I’m an enjoyer of things, and I love the NBA Cup. In fact, I can’t get enough of it. If you’re an NBA fan and haven’t yet gotten on board, it’s not too late. Don’t be like Charles Barkley.

Why should we care about the NBA Cup? You might as well ask why we should even care about sports at all. Some would say that we shouldn’t, that there are more valuable things we could be doing with our time, more matters in the world that could use our attention than living vicariously through a bunch of millionaires trying to put a ball in a hoop.

It’s difficult to argue when it’s put that way, but if you think like that, you’d never be able to justify going to the movies, watching TV, or playing a video game, either. Life is serious and heavy, sure, which is exactly why we need sports in the first place. Even Greta Thunberg watches soccer sometimes.

With that in mind, here’s a list of five reasons why the NBA Cup matters.

What’s the Point of the NBA Cup?

Everything is better as a tournament

One of the most common complaints people have about the NBA is that, on a nightly basis, there’s not always maximum effort being given by the players. I don’t necessarily agree with that, but there’s no denying that the level of intensity goes up when what would otherwise be just another early-season game instead turns into a win-or-be-eliminated slugfest. Players want to feel like they’re competing for something, and with its bloated 82-game schedule, the NBA sometimes loses sight of that.

The NCAA Tournament is proof of just how much fans love a bracket that they can fill out and predict. Hell, a couple of years ago, we were all enraptured by the Beast Bracket. We don’t want to have to wait until April for the intensity to get turned all the way up, and for that reason alone, the NBA Cup is worth it.

Last night’s final was awesome, as was the semi between the Spurs and Thunder. Would those games have carried the same meaning or intensity if they didn’t have so much on the line? Probably not.

The NBA Cup gives every team a chance to make some noise

Unless you’re covering the sport on a daily basis, chances are that you’re not watching the games from more than a handful of teams. There’s only so much time in the day, but the NBA Cup puts every team on an equal playing field and gives them a chance to shine. This year was a great example of that, as we saw the upstart Suns reach the elimination round, the Magic prove themselves as real Eastern Conference contenders by reaching the semis, and the Spurs take out the big, bad Thunder in a preview of what could be the defining rivalry of the next decade.

Most fans have probably seen Wemby play a few times this year, but the Suns and Magic have flown completely under the radar, yet both are really fun teams deserving of our attention. The NBA Cup gives them a chance to shine on a big stage while allowing fans to broaden their horizons beyond seeing the Lakers or Warriors every other night. Let’s also talk about the Knicks. Sure, they play in the biggest market in the world, but when’s the last time they won anything? Over half a century after their last title, they can finally say they beat the rest of the league in something.

The NBA Cup happens at a time when the sports calendar could use some help

There’s an ebb and flow to the year-round sports calendar. Certain times are chock full of action, such as early April when Major League Baseball and the Masters get underway, the NCAA Tournament concludes, and the NBA and NHL playoffs are within sight. This time of year isn’t necessarily a fallow period, because we still have NFL action on Sundays to tide us over, but other than that, things are quiet.

Most non-diehard fans aren’t yet tuned into college basketball, nor are they fully locked in yet to what’s happening in the NBA and NHL. The College Football Playoff doesn’t start until the NBA Cup is over. Baseball is still months away. The NBA Cup fills a gap and gives us something to get excited for, right at the perfect time.

The NBA Cup validates the best players in the league

There are only so many awards out there for basketball players to win, and with guys like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic vacuuming up all of the major accolades, that doesn’t leave much for the rest of the league. The talent level in the NBA has never been higher, though, so the fact that the NBA Cup exists is a blessing because it allows some other phenomenal players to get some much-deserved recognition.

Winning a Finals MVP is the ultimate validation of a player’s worth, both individually and to his team. The NBA Cup may still be in its infancy, but there’s no doubt that years from now, we’ll be able to look at the list of NBA Cup MVPs with almost the same level of reverence as we do Finals MVPs. Three years in, we have LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and now Jalen Brunson. That’s a pretty sick list, and it puts Brunson in the elitest of the elite company, even if it also meant that he had to endure a Josh Hart thumb in his butt as a reward.

It’s all about the Benjamins, baby

I can’t think of another professional sporting event where fans should care about the money the players make, but the NBA Cup is the exception. Each player gets more money the farther their team goes in the tournament. For a sizable portion of the league, the $530,000 or so that each player makes is a drop in the bucket compared to their normal salary. Two-way players get about half of that, and for those who spend most of their time struggling to make ends meet in the G League, that amount can make a huge difference.

That’s why we see players on the bench losing their minds with joy when their team wins. There’s also the potential for wonderful stories, such as we heard last night, when Karl-Anthony Towns announced that he’s donating the entirety of his NBA Cup prize money to the Dominican Republic to help families in financial hardship build homes.