2024 NBA Cup: Picking the top players, rookie and best game - ESPN

The second annual NBA Cup is in the books, with the Milwaukee Bucks dominating a poor-shooting Oklahoma City Thunder team 97-81 in Tuesday's anticlimactic final in Las Vegas.

As compared to last year's inaugural edition, briefly called the less memorable In-Season Tournament, this NBA Cup felt more mature as a concept. Teams understood how to navigate the point differential tiebreaker from day one and bought into the significance of the NBA Cup despite (largely unfounded) concerns about how it might hurt them down the line.

The result was a tantalizing final matchup pitting the favorite to win the Western Conference against a championship hopeful from the East and featuring two of the top contenders for MVP in Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo — who won NBA Cup MVP honors — and Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Let's relive how we got there by looking at some superlatives from the NBA Cup group and knockout stages, including my picks for the awards handed out by the league — MVP and All-NBA Cup Team — as well as unofficial picks for top rookie, best coach, best game and more.

MVP: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

What to know about the NBA Cup, including the Bucks' win over the Thunder in Las Vegas.

• Updates and FAQ on format, prize money
• Collier: How Giannis, Bucks saved their season
• Pelton: NBA Cup awards! Best game, top players
• Bontemps: Execs, scouts on the NBA Cup's future

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 news conference. He ensured only his opponents would feel that frustration this time around.

Antetokounmpo averaged 31.7 points per game in this year's knockout rounds, coming