LAS VEGAS — The New York Knicks might get a trophy. Tyler Kolek’s dad might get a car.
The Eastern Conference’s Knicks will take on the Western’s San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup final Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Unlike other games from the league’s in-season tournament — including New York’s victory against the Orlando Magic and San Antonio’s victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Saturday’s semifinals — this one won’t count in the regular-season standings, and the stats won’t be added to any official totals.
However, there are a trophy, bragging rights and money at stake.
By making it to the title game, the Knicks and Spurs already have secured $212,373 per player from the NBA Cup prize money pool. The losing team on Tuesday gets nothing extra. Players on the winning team get an additional $308,560, pushing their Cup winnings to $530,933 each. Players with two-way contracts, allowing them to move between NBA teams and their G League affiliates, get half of what players on standard contracts get.
“It means a lot to some,” Kolek said. “Maybe not as much to others, obviously.”