Is Winning The NBA Cup Worth Celebrating For Knicks?

When the Milwaukee Bucks won the second-annual Emirates NBA Cup last December, they took a more even keeled approach in celebrating the in-season tournament victory. Doc Rivers’ team withheld any post-game locker room celebrations, leaving the goggles, beer and champagne that was set up untouched. The New York Knicks could have the opportunity to do the same if they win the Cup this season.

Milwaukee did, however, remain on the court for the trophy presentation from commissioner Adam Silver and raised a banner in Fiserv Forum for the achievement like Los Angeles did a year prior when they won the inaugural event. Spearheaded by LeBron James, a winner of four NBA championships, the Lakers doused each other with bubbly and popped bottles. Much to the dismay of commentary Charles Barkley.

"You don't do champagne for the In-Season tournament," the Hall of Famer said on the Dan Patrick show. "If they put that In-Season Tournament banner up, I'm going to roast them on television."

The Lakers who have 17 championship banners hanging from the roof at Crypto.com Arena did just that. If one of the NBA’s preeminent franchises can have a banner-raising ceremony, so can the Knicks if they beat San Antonio in the NBA Cup Final. After all, during New York's 79 seasons in existence, there hasn’t been much to celebrate.

The franchise has made the NBA Finals eight times and won two titles way back in 1970 and 1973. After making the playoffs for 14 consecutive seasons between 1988-2001, including trips to the finals in 1994 and 1999, the Knicks won just a single playoff series from that time up until 2022.

Dec 13, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; New York Knicks guard Mikal Bridges (25) puts the shot up as Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane (3) looks on during a game at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

As part of Madison Square Garden’s renovations about a decade ago, the Knicks broke from their usual tradition and hung a 2012-13 Atlantic Division banner, the most recent one put in the rafters. Before that the Knicks had not celebrated their other division winners from 1971, 1989, 1993 and 1994.

Now all five of those banners are up on the pinwheel roof along with the retired numbers of Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, Earl Monroe, Dick Barnett, Dick McGuire and Patrick Ewing. Famed coach Red Holzman is also up there.

New York Facing Championship Drought

Of the four major men's sports leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL), New York is amidst a historically long championship drought. Not since Eli Manning and the Giants beat New England in the 2011 Super Bowl has a New York team been able to win the big one.

The previous longest run of emptiness was between 1962-169. Since 2011, New York’s big four Tri-State area teams - excluding the neighborly Devils in Jersey and the Bills upstate - have made 15 trips to the Conference Finals (Yankees five, Rangers five, Mets two, Islanders two, Knicks one). Those teams are 3-12 in those series and 0-3 when playing for it all.

NBA Working Out In Season Tournament

Winning the NBA Cup might not be the most desired gift Knicks fans could stash under their Christmas tree, but it’s unquestionably better than the years of coal left in their stockings. For 16 seasons, between 2004-05 and the year before Leon Rose took over in 2020, the Knicks’ seasons were lost long before Santa came to town for all but three of those years.

The NBA’s three-year old gimmick was manufactured to give players extra incentive to compete during the early weeks of the regular season with extra holiday cash going in the winning players pockets – each member of the Cup winning team earns an additional $530,933. The runners up earn an extra $212,373.

The tournament is still a work in progress and is the butt of many jokes. The custom courts don’t meet everyone’s eye. The finals of the Cup do not count towards the regular-season standings. And those games hosted on a neutral court in Las Vegas don’t possess the same grandeur as the NBA Finals stage.

52 years ago, the Knicks didn’t celebrate their most recent championship with a ticker tape parade, but rather a ceremony at City Hall. They’ll be no parade down the Canyon of Heroes if the Knicks avenge their 1999 Final’s loss to the Spurs in the Cup. But a win will be worth celebrating.

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