Tag: NBA Cup

NBA refs suddenly have sponsored Emirates patches on their uniforms and fans weren’t happy

After the NBA’s All-Star break, officials have a new look on their jerseys.

After the NBA’s All-Star break, officials have a new look on their jerseys.

The league unveiled a partnership with Emirates on Feb. 8, the same day as the NBA’s trade deadline. They announced the airline as the title sponsor for the NBA’s In-Season Tournament, now known as the Emirates NBA Cup.

Also included in that press release was the news that the Emirates logo will appear on all NBA referee jerseys, starting with the NBA’s 2024 All-Star Game. All referees in the WNBA (beginning in 2025) and G League (starting in 2024-25) will also wear Emirates patches.

Emirates is currently a sponsor across various international sports properties, including referee jersey branding for the FA Cup, Cricket World Cup, and the Rugby World Cup.

Although the news was picked up by several outlets, fans may have missed this information if they were focused on the winners and losers of the trade deadline. After the league returned from the brief All-Star break, though, it did not take long for fans to notice the sponsorship:

Here is more from Chris Herring (via ESPN):

“The move comes at a time when NBA viewership is up from last year on the major networks and at a time when the league’s referees are being shown on television far more than in the past.

Television cameras generally zoom in on lead officials as they finalize their rulings over an in-arena microphone following coach’s challenges, where referees review replays of debatable calls — a process that often takes minutes at a time. The number of reviews has increased in recent years, as league stakeholders voted in 2023 to allow clubs a third challenge if a coach requests and is successful with his first two tries.”

Now that the NBA patches are public, though, fans shared their thoughts:

Giannis Antetokounmpo on learning NBA Cup winners receive money: ‘The rich get richer’

Giannis Antetokounmpo seemed genuinely surprised.

The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the New York Knicks to advance to the semifinals of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament.

Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished the game with 35 points as well as 10 assists and eight rebounds during the win, was asked about the prize money that the advancing players will receive.

Antetokounmpo seemed surprised that there was money involved in any capacity and told TNT’s Jared Greenberg: “The rich get richer.”

The two-time MVP is currently signed to a five-year contract worth more than $228.2 million for an average annual value exceeding $45.6 million.

He will earn at least an additional $100,000 by making the semifinals of the NBA Cup but the former NBA Finals MVP could receive up to $500,000 if the Bucks win the In-Season Tournament.

Fun fact: Antetokounmpo, who will turn 30 years old while in Las Vegas, said that he only bets on “34 red” in roulette if he is gambling.

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A mic’d up Josh Hart hilariously tried to play mind games on Brook Lopez during Knicks – Bucks

It actually wasn’t the worst advice from Josh Hart to Brook Lopez.

During the quarterfinals of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament, Knicks wing Josh Hart had a funny message for Bucks big Brook Lopez.

Hart, who is 6-foot-4, approached the 7-foot-1 center to offer him some strategic advice. Hart said that when Lopez gets the ball near the basket, the Milwaukee big shouldn’t feel “scared” to pass it out to his teammate to avoid the mismatch.

According to Hart, despite the obvious height difference that favors the Milwaukee big by several inches, the mismatch favors the shorter player any time that he is guarding Lopez.

Hart was joking, but let’s look into this one! For what it is worth, using the matchup database via NBA.com, Hart has defended Lopez on 31.5 partial possessions since 2018-19.

The big man is shooting 3-of-7 (42.8 percent) on these opportunities and has scored eight points. Lopez has also recorded three assists and three turnovers on these matchups. Not bad!

While the advice from Hart about a mismatch is tongue-in-cheek, it is also actually not the most awful observation. Lopez is averaging just 0.1 passes per game after post-up possessions this season, via NBA.com.

Last season, his pass percentage on post-ups ranked as the second-lowest (minimum: 40 post-ups) in the league. So perhaps, no matter who is assigned to guard Lopez, he should consider Hart’s suggestion.

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Trey Lyles (sort of) threw a punch at the head of Jonas Valanciunas but somehow didn’t get ejected

This was so far from actually hurting Valanciunas that Lyles was barely punished.

During the NBA’s In-Season Tournament, Kings forward Trey Lyles and Pelicans big man Jonas Valanciunas shared a tense moment.

As the Pelicans hustled back on defense in the second quarter of the game, Lyles and Valanciunas were visibly upset at one another. Lyles then threw what was nearly a punch toward the head of Valanciunas, but the strike did not connect.

The broadcasters described what they saw from Lyles as a “modified swing” toward the big man. Here is a video of what happened:

Lyles was whistled for a “physical taunt” technical foul against the New Orleans big man but was not ejected from the contest.

It was not a double technical, meanwhile, as Valanciunas was not penalized for his actions during the possession.

Later in the game, New Orleans wing Naji Marshall approached Lyles and may have shared his thoughts about the incident.

Overall, the refs seemingly allowed more of a playoff-like atmosphere during the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup to allow that type of physicality without an ejection.

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NBA fans say Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers deserve more national TV games after thrilling Celtics win

Time to flex some games so we can all watch the Pacers more often.

Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers defeated the Boston Celtics to advance to the semifinals of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament.

Haliburton had the first triple-double of his career recording 26 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists, zero turnovers and one steal. It’s worth noting that the rising star had not played a game on TNT before this victory, per ESPN.

After the dominant performance, the Pacers will move on to the semifinals of the NBA Cup in Las Vegas. The next round of the tournament, which will be a combined broadcasting effort by ESPN and TNT, will give Haliburton and his teammates yet another chance to play on national TV.

Otherwise, the Pacers only have one other game scheduled on national TV this season: Jan. 30 against the Celtics on TNT.

But fans aren’t satisfied with just getting to see the Pacers, who now have the best offensive rating of all-time so far this season, in just those games. Many expressed a genuine interest in seeing the national TV schedule flexed as the season continues so they can watch Indiana more often.

RELATED: Tyrese Haliburton has become the NBA’s new Chris Paul with how well he’s taking care of the ball

7 fascinating details about the NBA Cup trophy given to the In-Season Tournament Champions

The cup was designed by Tiffany & Co. in collaboration with artist Victor Solomon.

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While some basketball fans were initially confused about the NBA’s In-Season Tournament, the league experiment is a massive success thus far.

Some standout performers have already separated themselves as potential MVP candidates during group play of the tournament. As we head into the quarterfinals, teams are one step closer to becoming the inaugural champions of the NBA Cup.

Here are some key details you should know about the actual trophy they will receive, per NBA.com:

  1. The cup was designed by Tiffany & Co. in collaboration with artist Victor Solomon. It was crafted at the Tiffany hollowware workshop in Rhode Island.
  2. The base of the cup has 30 openings in the net to represent all of the teams in the league.
  3. The base has three tiers, which represent how many games each team must win during the knockout rounds to win the tournament.
  4. Eight prongs flow into the channels of the ball, which symbolize the eight teams that made the knockout rounds of the tournament. These are inspired by the prongs of a diamond ring.
  5. The trophy is 23 inches tall, which is a tribute to the inaugural year of the tournament.
  6. The trophy is five inches wide because there were five teams in each group during the seeding games.
  7. The trophy, which weighs 35 pounds, is coated in 24-karat gold vermeil and black ceramic. The weight represents the three groups of five teams in each conference during group play.

This is a beautiful trophy and the attention to detail is fascinating.

NBA Cup MVP?

(Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

In case you missed it last week, we took a look at the 14 candidates most likely to win the MVP of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament.

Boston’s Jayson Tatum is currently considered the favorite to take home the trophy. Based on play during the seeding games during group play, however, the best players to advance to the knockout rounds included Phoenix’s Devin Booker and Kevin Durant as well as Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox.

Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton is an interesting choice as well if he is healthy. So, too, are Lakers teammates LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Shootaround

HoopsHype

— Short Kings, rejoice! HoopsHype’s Frank Urbina ranked the greatest players in NBA history who are 6-foot-and-under.

— LeBron James coyly said the heated exchange that led to Ime Udoka’s ejection was about Thanksgiving. Prince Grimes has more.

— It’s becoming clear what the Lakers’ biggest weakness is this season, per LeBron Wire’s Robert Marvi.

— HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto spoke to Gordon Hayward about LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Mark Williams and more.