NBA Cup championship prize money: Knicks, Spurs to battle for $530K per player in Tuesday's title game
Everyone playing will receive some sort of bonus, but the winnings will mean more to some than others
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2 min read
The NBA Cup has now been narrowed down to two teams, with the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs set to meet in the championship game on Tuesday night in Las Vegas. The Knicks beat the Orlando Magic in the semifinals to reach the title game, while the Spurs ended the Oklahoma City Thunder's 16-game win streak to advance.
Victor Wembanyama made an emphatic return after missing almost a month with a calf sprain, putting up 22 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and two assists in the win. He came off the bench for the Spurs, as they're working him back in cautiously coming back from an injury. Though he only played 20 minutes, he was incredibly efficient, shooting 54% from the floor.
Wembanyama and the Spurs will now take on a Knicks team that has gone 9-1 in their last 10 games. The two teams will face off in Las Vegas for the championship game, and in addition to having the title of 2025 NBA Cup winner attached to their names, there's also a large sum of prize money on the line.
The winning team of the title game will take home $530,933 per player. That's a modest increase from the $500,000 per player during the inaugural event in 2023. While $530K is a drop in the bucket for players like Jalen Brunson, who is making over $34 million this season, or Karl-Anthony Towns whose contract is up to $54 million this season alone, for guys lower on the totem pole, that's a significant sum.
For second-year player Ariel Hukporti, who was a second-round draft pick in 2024, he'll get about a third of what his yearly salary is ($1,955,377) if the Knicks win. It's even more lucrative for two-way players. While two-way players only get half of what those on standard contracts do, Kyle Mangas, David Jones-Garcia, Harrison Ingram, Kevin McCullar Jr., Trey Jemison and Tosan Evbuomwan will all earn roughly $265,466 if their team wins. That's almost half of the standard two-way contract of $636,435.
Even for the losing team there's plenty of money to be made. The team that loses on Tuesday will earn $212,373 per player. That's still a ton of money for the guys on smaller contracts. Even for the bigger players, it's extra money that they otherwise would not have made, and we've heard guys in the past be motivated by the prospect of earning extra dough.
After the Magic advanced to the semifinals, which earned each player $106,187, Desmond Bane noted that he was appreciative of the extra cash after just being fined $35,000 by the league for unsportsmanlike conduct.
"That's huge, man. I just lost $35,000. I gotta go get it back somehow," Bane said after the win. "But I'm excited. Great opportunity for us to play some meaningful basketball early in the season."
Aside from the monetary motivation, though, we've seen the league's attempt to bring excitement to the early part of the NBA calendar work. The Spurs-Thunder semifinals matchup felt like a playoff game, and we should be in store for another high-intensity matchup between the Knicks and Spurs Tuesday night. Tip off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET on Prime.
