Even With A New Name And A Fancy Promo Video It Still Feels Hard To Give A Shit About The NBA Cup

Harry How. Getty Images.

Big day in the NBA today with the release of their NBA Cup schedule and there was only one problem. I'm not sure anyone gave a single shit. It's a bit of a weird situation, and I say this as someone who enjoyed last year's In Season Tournament and think overall it's a pretty intriguing idea. I think it's a good idea they changed the name and we can simply call it the NBA Cup, I don't mind the color courts (even though it's complete bullshit Adam Silver wouldn't let the Celts use parque) and generally the games were mostly entertaining.

But even with a new easier to say name and a fancy promotional video

There still isn't any "juice" in this thing for me as a fan. Whatever significance the league and Adam Silver want this to have just doesn't exist. I know it's early and only the second year, but I don't see how that changes much. No matter what type of advertising Adam Silver puts around this tournament, it will never change these simple facts:

Fact #1: This

Ethan Miller. Getty Images.

is not this

Adam Glanzman. Getty Images.

Fact #2: This trophy

Harry How. Getty Images.

will never mean more than this one, which is the ultimate goal. Plus, the Larry looks way cooler

Lauren Leigh Bacho. Getty Images.

For what Adam Silver wants to happen and for people to truly care about the NBA Cup and look at it as some sort of significant trophy to win that is actually important and worth paying attention to, both of those things have to change. We already live in a world where any respectable franchise and fanbase doesn't even care about winning a Conference Trophy unless you're able to win the one that comes after it, and that's way harder to win than the NBA Cup. 

Maybe this all just me being shortsighted and the transition into treating the NBA Cup like European soccer treats their Cups/Championships in addition to the NBA Championship is something for the next generation to do. Perhaps this isn't for our lifetimes, but instead for after we're all dead and there's no one left from the old guard in this new generation where the NBA Cup suddenly has significance. I've come to this conclusion mostly because I cannot ever imagine a scenario where I give a shit about winning the NBA Cup, and I'm someone who likes the tournament! As long as the NBA title exists, that is the only thing my brain is going to give a shit about.

This lack of buzz/interest is something I also felt when they first released the different groups. There was no juice behind that either. As big a deal as the NBA wanted to make that announcement, I feel like it didn't move the needle at all. It was mostly a "eh, OK whatever" reaction for me which I feel like is a pretty common response.

At the end of the day, I see this entire experiment as really just being a stretch of the schedule where you have a higher likelihood of getting a competitive game, and that's all I care about as a fan. Granted I'm going to watch anyways, but anything that helps make NBA players give a shit is good in my book. There's just something about trying to make the NBA Cup into this whole big thing that feels forced. I get you have to start from somewhere and this is how you establish traditions and we're literally only in Year 2 blah blah blah, but how many years have to go by in order for me or anyone else to actually give a shit?