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The New York Knicks haven’t won an NBA title since the early 1970s. It’s also been more than a quarter of a century since the franchise won the Eastern Conference and advanced to the NBA Finals.
On Tuesday night, the Knicks took the court in Las Vegas to compete for an NBA title – sort of. The Knicks met the San Antonio Spurs in Las Vegas for the third iteration of the NBA Cup, the league’s renamed mid-season tournament.
While some players and coaches have welcomed the emerging concept, Basketball Hall of Famer and NBA analyst Charles Barkley remains unconvinced.
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College basketball analyst Charles Barkley on air before the Final Four championship game of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
“I think the Cup thing is somewhat embarrassing,” Barkley said during an appearance on the “Tom Tolbert Show” when discussing the NBA Cup. Barkley also expressed angst over the series’ reliance on prize money as a way to force players to prioritize regular season games.
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“I’m disappointed that we have to have a tournament mid-season to make these guys more money so they’re not doing load management.” The NBA has rules in place to try to discourage teams from sitting otherwise healthy players due to load management.
A player must now appear in at least 65 games to be eligible for coveted individual awards such as the NBA MVP.
A general view of the arena before the Emirates NBA Cup championship game between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks at T-Mobile Arena on December 16, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
“But having to pay these guys more money to play other games – they should play basketball because they get paid well to play basketball,” Barkley continued. “Having a tournament during the season to make them more money, come on, man. It’s kind of ridiculous.”
By most accounts, the NBA Cup was put in place to increase the level of enthusiasm during the league’s 82-game regular season. Commissioner Adam Silver used similar seasonal tournaments in Europe as a model for the NBA version.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks during a press conference during the Emirates NBA Cup Finals at T-Mobile Arena on December 16, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
While television ratings fell between the tournament’s first year and its second in 2024, demand for tickets declined and Barkley and other commentators voiced criticism, the NBA league office still appears committed to the experiment.
The Knicks beat the Spurs 124-113 on Tuesday in the NBA Cup championship game.
