The NBA Gods didn’t disappoint.
The powers that be set up a delicious NBA Cup semifinal on Saturday night in Las Vegas between the Knicks and Orlando Magic that has a tasty subplot.
Magic guard Desmond Bane, who was just fined $35,000 for hurling a basketball like a dodge ball at Knicks forward OG Anunoby, will again face New York with a spot in the NBA Cup championship game on the line.
“Oh, it’s huge, man,” Bane told reporters after going for 37 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in the Magic’s 117-108 win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday. “I just lost $35,000 so I gotta go get it back somehow.
“But I’m excited. Great opportunity for us to play some meaningful basketball early in the season.”
For the 2025 NBA Cup, players on the championship team earn $530,933, runners-up get $212,373 and semifinalists receive $106,187.
The Knicks and Magic have never met in the NBA playoffs, and while this isn’t the real playoffs, it is a chance for both teams to play for a title of some kind.
The Knicks, who reached the semifinals after falling in the quarters the last two seasons, haven’t won anything as a franchise since the 1973 NBA championship (unless you count winning the Draft Lottery that yielded them Patrick Ewing.)
For Jalen Brunson and company, it’s also a chance to earn some more money.
“I think it’s something different,” Brunson said on the MSG Network. “I think it’s good because we have a lot of guys obviously making a lot of money on this team, and then we have guys and coaches maybe not making as much, so it’s an opportunity for them to make a little extra money.”