I think part of why it feels meaningless is it’s actually not long enough and they’re making a big deal about something that feels insignificant. Expanding it and having cup games through January instead of the beginning of December would make it better.

Other things I would change:

They’re trying to make Tuesdays the marquee cup matchups, but maybe you can have NBA CUP games every Friday night from the start of the season through the end of January. Players get fined for load management (NBA is already watching this for cup games) so the best players aren’t sitting out. Every team playing every Friday with fans knowing the best players will be there.

Also having the cup games include regional games and rivalries. Consistency here will allow for rivalries and stories to be built.

Would make it a bigger deal. Have the cup championship game played right before All-Star Break instead of December. You could even have it kick off the All-Star break so it helps the All-Star break problem too.

Final issue is there isn’t a real prize. Cash is cool for the players, but fans don’t get excited about that and front offices aren’t doing everything they can to win these games because nothing is really at stake.

Easy fix is to expand the first round by two picks, and the winner of the NBA Cup gets the first pick after the draft lottery and the runner-up gets the last pick in the first round (effectively 32 picks and winner gets pick 15 and runner-up gets pick 32).

This results in real value for front offices and fans.

If done right, the NBA cup can emulate a season of football that casual fans can zero in on weekly matchups against teams they care about.


Tl/dr bullet points:

* Expand NBA cup through January and have Tournament Games and Championship in February to lead up to All-Star Break.

* Continue making it as prohibitive as possible to sit out on those games so fans get to see Stars play.

* Provide additional draft capital or some other actual reward beyond a cash prize.

* Consistent scheduling, marketing, and teams faced to emulate a season of football for casual fans to zero in on.