2024 NBA Cup: Top Player Selection, Rookie and Best Game

One of my lasting memories from last year’s semifinals was Antetokounmpo coming to terms with his team’s loss to the Indiana Pacers in the postgame press conference. He ensured that only his opponents would feel that frustration this time.

Antetokounmpo averaged 31.7 points per game. game in this year’s knockout rounds, coming within one assist of a triple-double in the semifinal win over the Atlanta Hawks before recording a triple-double against the Thunder.

More than even those stellar stats, Antetokounmpo set the tone for his team with playoff-caliber defensive intensity. His block of Trae Young in the fourth quarter against Atlanta was the most memorable play of the knockout round. Against OKC, Antetokounmpo had three blocks and two steals. There was never any doubt who was the MVP during the finals.

All-NBA Cup team

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks

Alperen Sengun, Houston Rockets

Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks

Antetokounmpo and Gilgeous-Alexander were locks, and so was Lillard.

The Bucks had the strongest one-two punch of the teams to reach the knockout stages, with Antetokounmpo and Lillard combining to average nearly 60 points and more than 16 assists per game. match in the tournament.

Young led Atlanta’s run to the semifinals with 24.2 PPG and 10.8 APG, more than any other player in NBA Cup play.

Choosing a representative from the semi-finalist Houston Rockets was the hardest part. No Houston player averaged more than 20 PPG, and Sengun wasn’t very effective in NBA Cup play overall. But his 26 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals against the Golden State Warriors in the quarterfinals was enough to earn him the final spot.

Coach for the NBA Cup: Doc Rivers, Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee didn’t run a challenging gauntlet heading into the Finals and benefited from the Thunder’s off shooting night there, but it’s impossible to deny Rivers’ work during the Bucks’ undefeated run. Milwaukee’s defense was a mess this time a year ago, falling to 22nd on a per-possession basis after the Pacers torched them for 128 points in the semifinals.

This time, the Bucks were well prepared despite playing the finals without wing Khris Middleton due to illness. Milwaukee’s plan to pack the paint and force Oklahoma City to win the game with jumpers was the correct one, and the Bucks get plenty of credit for the Thunder’s 44% shooting from inside the arc.

Shoutout also to Milwaukee assistant Darvin Ham, who led the Los Angeles Lakers to last year’s tournament victory and has yet to lose an NBA Cup game.

Biggest coaching mistake: Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat

Spoelstra is rightfully considered one of the NBA’s top coaches, and maybe even the best, but he wasn’t at his sharpest during overtime of the Heat’s NBA Cup opener against the Detroit Pistons. Up two with under two seconds left in overtime on a Tyler Herro score, Miami saw Cade Cunningham lob the ball to Jalen Duren for a dunk off an out-of-bounds situation.

Frustrated with the team’s poor execution, Spoelstra called a timeout that Miami did not have back, allowing the Pistons to win on Malik Beasley’s technical free throw.

A win would have started Miami’s Cup campaign on the right foot and given the Heat a chance to advance as either the group winner or the Eastern Conference wild card heading into the final night of group play.

Rookie of the NBA Cup: Jared McCain, Philadelphia 76ers

A truly astounding stat: Entering Tuesday’s final, all freshmen had combined for 14 total points in six knockout games. No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher started all six games as the Hawks advanced to the semifinals, but shot 2-of-19 from 3-point range and averaged 6.3 PPG. So the Rookie of the Cup race looked a lot like the right one did before McCain’s untimely knee injury.

He averaged 24.8 points in four NBA Cup group games, making 18 3-pointers at a 51% clip. It was edged out by Dalton Knecht of the Los Angeles Lakers, who also made 18 3s (sailing 54.5%) but wasn’t quite as productive inside the arc, averaging 19.5 PPG.

Most Improved Team: Atlanta Hawks

Oklahoma City made the biggest jump in scoring after going 1-3 in last year’s edition, but the Thunder actually had a plus-24 differential thanks to a blowout win and three close losses.

Atlanta is working on a few levels, both the in-season improvement as described above and year-over-year. In the 2023 tournament, the Hawks went 1-3 with their only win over the lowly Pistons and were outscored by 32 points — the worst of any team to reach this season’s knockout stages, let alone the semifinals.

Biggest Disappointment: Cleveland Cavaliers

Group C in the East featured the conference’s top two teams this season, Cleveland and the Boston Celtics, but the Hawks emerged as unlikely winners. The Celtics finished at least second and would have advanced as the East’s wild card if the Magic had defeated the Knicks on the final night of the playoffs.

The Cavaliers were long since eliminated by then, having lost both to Atlanta and in a showdown in Boston to finish 2-2. The NBA Cup looked like a golden opportunity for Cleveland to hang a rare banner. Instead, the Cavaliers must hope their strong start translates into a deep playoff run next spring.

Best Game: Golden State 120, Dallas 117

The first night of NBA Cup play produced the most memorable matchup: Klay Thompson returned to the Bay Area to face the Warriors for the first time since leaving for the Mavericks via sign-and-trade this summer.

Both player and team handled the emotional reunion (complete with sailboat captain hats) perfectly, with Thompson making six 3-pointers and scoring 22 points. The finish also lived up to the hype, with Stephen Curry scoring the final 12 points for Golden State, which rallied from a 114-108 deficit with 3:10 to play to win a game that was tied until Luka Doncic missed a 3-pointer to tie the game in the final seconds.

Both teams advanced to the knockout stages, but the result gave Dallas a tougher matchup in Oklahoma City in a quarterfinal loss.

game

Klay Thompson walks in to a standing ovation from the Warriors staff

Before playing Golden State, Klay Thompson returns to the Chase Center to a standing ovation from the Warriors staff.

Most disappointing injury: Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic

The Magic were one of the best stories of the group stage, overcoming the absence of All-Star Paolo Banchero to win their first three games in convincing fashion and claim the East wild card after losing at Madison Square Garden.

Wagner was arguably the MVP of the group stage, after averaging 30.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.5 steals while stepping into Banchero’s role as the go-to guy on offense. Alas, when Orlando came to Milwaukee for the quarterfinals, Wagner had joined Banchero on the sidelines after suffering an identical injury (an oblique laceration) the previous weekend.

Without Wagner, the Magic managed a good game but lost 114–109, ending the hopes of one of eight active franchises without an NBA championship claiming the NBA Cup.