Good night!! These are not hours for anything… but they are hours for the NBA. Welcome to a special date, that of the first final of the season: the Cup. The format that began last year and is looking for its second champion after the Los Angeles Lakers title in 2023. At MARCA we are going to tell you everything about the grand final between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Milwaukee Bucks. We seek champion.
Although when the NBA imagined the concept of the Cup as a catalyst for the very long NBA regular season, perhaps it thought that the ‘mix’ of ingredients would produce a better product than the second edition. There are stars, Las Vegas as a city hungry for high-level basketball and a venue, and all the visual details that separated the KO tournament games from those of the regular season. But, when push comes to shove, the second ending of the story still raises doubts. Although not a sports one, since the Oklahoma City Thunder and Milwaukee Bucks arrive flying.
These are the conditions with which the Cup is decided. On the sports side, Oklahoma and Milwaukee are in top form, and two of the league’s leaders are facing each other: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a skilled Canadian point guard, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, a world star. But beyond that, the semi-finals did not bring any enthusiasm among the people and the ‘Cup’ concept does not end up exciting. Despite the fact that they put $500,000 on the table for each winning player. It is not, no matter how much they want it, the Final Four of the Euroleague or the Copa del Rey of Spanish basketball.
Today the Cup will have a new champion. He will inherit the throne of the Lakersalthough with much less attention. In the first edition, tickets did not go below 300 dollars, while in the second, according to the TickPick platform, prices have been reduced to less than 100 one week before the competition. Reflection of a drop in interest despite the fact that two great teams will seek to be champions.
And that’s why we’re here. We are looking for the new king. Antetokounmpo or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The duel between Bucks and Thunder. And we tell you, from now on, in MARCA. ¡We start with the second Cup final in history!