Knicks, Spurs ecstatic for 'high-stakes' NBA Cup showdown
NEW YORK, United States — The New York Knicks chose continuity over chaos last summer, resisting the temptation to chase Giannis Antetokounmpo and instead betting on the strength of their rising core.
That belief will be put to the test Tuesday night (Wednesday morning Manila time) in Las Vegas, where the Knicks face the surging San Antonio Spurs for the NBA Cup championship—a matchup steeped in history, high stakes and a heavy dose of future implications.
The game will not count in the regular-season standings, but the trophy, the national spotlight and the financial reward are very real. Players on standard contracts stand to earn an additional $318,560 apiece if they win the title, pushing their NBA Cup total to $530,933 after already securing $212,373 for reaching the final.
“You’re not winning or gaining anything in your record, but you’re going out there and competing,” Knicks star Jalen Brunson said. “You’re playing for more than just yourself. You’re playing for your team, your organization and your city. There’s a lot at stake besides the record. You go out there and compete no matter what.”
It is the first championship-stage meeting between the Knicks and Spurs since the 1999 NBA Finals, when Tim Duncan and David Robinson powered San Antonio past a New York team led by Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston. This time, the Spurs return to the big stage behind their new generational superstar, Victor Wembanyama—a 7-foot-4 marvel who has vaulted San Antonio back into relevance and ignited visions of long-term title contention.
“It’s a high-stakes game that both teams are going to be very invested in winning,” Wembanyama said. “As competitors, we want to win every game, and this one brings something new to the table, so we want to win it even more.”
The Spurs’ ascension has also reshaped the landscape surrounding the looming Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes. Long considered one of the few franchises equipped with the draft capital and blue-chip prospects to outbid the Knicks, Spurs and Rockets are now expected to stay out of any future Antetokounmpo trade chase.
“There is a growing belief among trade-trackers that San Antonio and Houston, like Oklahoma City, do not plan to join the chase for Antetokounmpo,” reported longtime NBA insider Marc Stein of The Stein Line. “All three of those teams, as you can imagine, like what they have going.”
That includes San Antonio’s electrifying young core—Wembanyama, All-Star point guard De’Aaron Fox, Rookie of the Year contender Stephon Castle and No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper, the Filipino-American guard whose emergence has added another layer of excitement to the Spurs’ rebuild. Their NBA Cup semifinal victory over the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder only reinforced the organization’s confidence that the franchise is ahead of schedule.
For the Knicks, the title game represents both an opportunity and a referendum. They passed on their chance to go all-in for Giannis, trusting instead in a nucleus built around Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges and a second unit led by former Gilas stalwart Jordan Clarkson—a group strong enough to reach the NBA Cup Finals and one they believe can contend for far more.
Against Wembanyama and a Spurs team that believes its future is already here, the Knicks will find out just how far that faith can carry them.
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Alder Almo is a former senior sportswriter for Philstar.com and NBA.com Philippines. He is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and writes for US-based publication Heavy.com.
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