The New York Knicks have just been named the 2025 Emirates NBA In-Season Tournament champs after destroying the San Antonio Spurs in the final leg of the game, 124-113. Although each Knicks player will get pleasant bonuses and a title under their names, an NBA cup trend in the past two years shows a polarising endgame, something which may benefit the Spurs in the long run.
Knicks Deserved the NBA Cup Trophy After a Fantastic Late-Game Run
San Antonio came into the NBA Cup Finals with a badge of honour after beating the No. 1-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the semifinals and becoming the second team to beat the reigning NBA champs this season so far. Despite Victor Wembanyama’s minutes restriction, the Spurs somehow brought that momentum against the Knicks in the final round of the In-Season Tournament, and their 11-point cushion late in the third quarter proved it.
However, New York came back alive and started a huge run and eventually stole the win by the end of regulation. The Knicks played well, especially OG Anunoby who had 28 points and 9 rebounds while shooting 10-for-17 from the field. Jalen Brunson also willed the team with 25 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds. One of the x-factors in this matchup was former NBA 6th man of the year, Jordan Clarkson, who recorded 15 points off the bench. Moreover, the Knicks outrebounded the Spurs, 59-42, thanks to Mitchell Robinson’s game-high 15 rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Spurs had a frustrating final frame after failing to make shots late in the game. Harrison Barnes went cold again from deep after going 0-for-4 from three, and Victor Wembanyama was struggling to make buckets and only made two points in the fourth quarter. Wemby finished the game with 18 points and 6 rebounds in 25 minutes of play. On the flip side, rookie Dylan Harper was a surprising performer after a team-high 21 points while playing as a backup.
Fortunately, losing in the NBA Cup Finals won’t affect their record this season.
The League Should Keep an Eye on Dylan Harper
The Silver and Black have been ascending in the past three seasons after drafting Wembanyama in 2023, Stephon Castle in 2024, and Dylan Harper in the 2025 NBA draft. Wemby and Castle both won the NBA Rookie of the Year award, and believe it or not, there’s a high chance that trophy will return in Texas; either back to San Antonio with Harper or in Dallas with Cooper Flagg.
While Flagg has been the top rookie in the ladder lately, the 19-year-old Harper seems like he’s about to crack the top 5 in rankings soon. The Filipino-American rising star missed 10 games earlier this season due to a strained calf, which deeply affected the start to his NBA career. However, the former Rutgers standout seems to have found his place within the Spurs’ deep guard rotation. As of this writing, Harper is averaging 13.1 points, 3.7 assists, and 3.1 rebounds per game.
NBA Cup History May Side with the Spurs This Season
The players of the winning team of the NBA Cup will each receive $530,000 in cash—a hefty amount for winning just one game—and obviously, the bragging rights as this year’s champs. However, since the tournament’s inauguration in 2023, a trend, or should we say a “curse”,, continuously followed the crowned winners.
In 2023, the Los Angeles Lakers became the first to ever hold the trophy, but they eventually made an early first-round exit in the playoffs. The following year, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard brought it home to Milwaukee but also suffered the same fate in the playoffs: another first-round loss. What’s even more intriguing is that the 2024 runners-up, the Oklahoma City Thunder, went on to win the bigger prize: the NBA championship.
If this trend continues, the New York Knicks may face getting knocked out early in the 2026 playoffs, despite being the favourites to get out of the Eastern Conference. And with that, the Spurs might end up becoming the dark horse in the West and might end up winning the Larry O’Brien trophy (not impossible, but still improbable).
While these are just purely speculations for a fairly small sample size, you might wonder: What if Wembanyama and the Spurs indeed win against all odds?
