NBA Cup 2025: Players, coaches on future of in-season tournament - ESPN

As the New York Knicks and Orlando Magic tipped off the first of two Emirates NBA Cup semifinal games Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, plenty of empty seats — particularly in the upper level — were scattered across the building.

The NBA Cup, which is in its third season, has largely accomplished the objective laid out by commissioner Adam Silver when he first championed the in-season tournament. It has successfully increased the spotlight on the NBA during the early part of the season, when college football and the NFL traditionally dominate the sports calendar. Players have bought in, too, if for no other reason than the more than $500,000 at stake for title-winning players.

What hasn't caught on is the atmosphere of the tournament's final stretch to decide a champion. That's in part why the league announced in September that 2025 would be the final Cup featuring a neutral-site semifinals, a recognition that the approach has lacked the energy and enthusiasm the league had hoped to create.

And it seems the NBA is pondering another change. Sources familiar with the situation told ESPN recently that the league is considering also moving the title game out of Las Vegas.

Beyond the tournament's future in Las Vegas, there has been plenty of chatter in the lead-up to Tuesday night's finale between the Knicks and San Antonio Spurs. From the motivation of prize money and continued frustrations over the schedule, to the growing trend of the knockout rounds showcasing the league's young talent, here is what players and coaches have said about the third installment of the NBA Cup.

If the venue changes for the semifinals of the Cup began this season, those matchups would have been held in Orlando and Oklahoma City because