The NBA Cup Means Nothing — and the New York Knicks Just Proved It

Drew Thirion|published: Wed 17th December, 15:32 2025

Nov 5, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) gestures under the basket before the start of a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The New York Knicks won the NBA Championship over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday and announced that they will not hang a banner for the win at Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks are the first NBA Cup Champion not to hang a banner, and I’m glad to announce that they’re the first team to have a little bit of common sense.

When the Lakers hung up their “Championship” banner, it was immediately mocked. The NBA Cup means nothing. The actual championship literally counts for nothing, as it doesn’t go towards a team's record or a player's individual stats. LeBron was the first star ever to win this award, and I believe it was primarily used as another accolade to buff up his legacy.

Players do get a nice bonus if they win the Cup, but that’s it. There’s rarely been a higher level of intensity in these games, and if anything, the horrible courts they’ve played on have made them look like a minor league affair.

Milwaukee also hung a banner last season, and I’m sure if you asked anyone on that team, they would trade their meaningless banner to avoid their third straight opening-round elimination.

Maybe it’s just the American in me, but I struggle to buy into the value of the NBA Cup. English football has the FA Cup or Carabao Cup, and those are just far more interesting. Of course, those tournaments being around for longer than three years add some value, but those Cups incorporate lower-tier English clubs and give a terrific way to spotlight every level of English Football. The NBA Cup is simply a money grab at the beginning of the season when teams aren’t even close to being the best versions of themselves.

You could still argue against the FA Cup’s importance as well. West Ham United is the last non-first-flight team to win the tournament back in 1980, and Wigan Athletic won when they were still in the Premier League, then were immediately relegated to the Championship later that week. For bigger clubs that lose early in the tournament, they lower the significance of the event, as it really doesn’t matter much to them at all. However, the opportunity of the massive upset still makes the event far more important than the NBA Cup.

This isn’t supposed to be a shot at Knicks fans celebrating their win, either. You play to win every night in professional sports, and it's great to see your team win “higher stakes” games early in the season. However, for a team that hasn’t hung a real banner since 1999, I think it’s good for them to wait until they’re able to win at least a conference title.