The NBA Cup already has its first confirmed teams heading to Las Vegas. The third edition will feature a first-time finalist from the Eastern Conference in either the Orlando Magic, who defeated the Miami Heat at home, or the New York Knicks, who won in Toronto against the Raptors. The Knicks and Magic will play the first semifinal on Saturday, December 13th, while the second finalist will be decided tonight between the winner of the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Phoenix Suns game and the winner of the San Antonio Spurs vs. Los Angeles Lakers matchup.
The Thunder were finalists last year, losing to the Bucks, while the Lakers won the inaugural edition. Frankly, a showdown in Las Vegas between the title favorites, the Thunder, and the revamped Lakers would be electric. Still, the games must be played, and both the Suns and the Spurs have had solid starts to the season.
Doncic Dominates Pickleball Over LeBron and Coach Redick
Given the length of the season and how quickly it passes, players need moments to relax, and the team should support this. The Lakers certainly do, as they recently showcased a mini-pickleball tournament on their YouTube channel. The competition saw Luka Doncic reach the final before losing to the pairing of Jake LaRavia and assistant coach Beau Levesque.
One person who did not have a strong tournament was LeBron James and his partner, Rui Hachimura, with James even looking surprised at how poorly he played on a couple of occasions.
The highlight of the tournament, however, was Doncic revelling in his victory over head coach JJ Redick, even declaring afterward, “that was easy,” much to the frustration of both Redick and James, who expects greatness even in friendly competition.
Lakers Seek Second NBA Cup Amid Thunder’s Historic Run
The Lakers are focused on winning every trophy this year, including their second NBA Cup after winning the first edition in 2023. To get to Vegas, they must first overcome the Spurs, who will still be without Victor Wembanyama but have played well in his absence, going 8-3 behind the star power of De’Aaron Fox.
The winner of this matchup will go to Las Vegas and likely face the Thunder, a team that, if they defeat the Suns, would officially tie the best start in NBA history (24-1), equaling the 2015-16 Warriors led by Steph Curry.
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