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This week, eight teams will battle it out for the NBA Cup. The knockout round begins on Monday night, with the in-season tournament finale being played on Saturday.
On Monday morning, the NBA released photos of all the awards from the in-season tournament. Among those depicted was the NBA Cup, the trophy that will be awarded to the champions.
Along with a trophy, each player on the winning team will receive a $500,000 bonus. Among the teams in contention to win the tournament include the LA Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics.
Like other trophies in pro sports, the cup trophy has a lot of interesting details put in it. Here are some of the key details from the in-season tournament trophy.
Details of the NBA Cup trophy design:
1) Color scheme
One of the first details that stick out about the NBA Cup is the color. All of the trophies have a black and gold design, that was chosen for reason. Black was picked because it is connected to elegance prestige, while gold connects it to some of the other top trophies in the NBA today.
2) The number of prongs
In the design, a half ball is held up by a series of prongs. There is exactly eight prongs, and it has to do with the tournament itself.
While all 30 teams compete in the Group Play stage, only eight end up advancing to the knockout round. That is why there are eight prongs on the trophy, one for each of the teams that advance to the second round.
3) The height
This year is the inaugural year for the NBA in-season tournament, and they wanted to represent that in the trophy. Since it's taking place in the year 2023, the NBA Cup stands exactly 23 inches tall.
4) Netting at the base
Towards the bottom of the trophy, there is a basketball net that wraps around the entire base. The net itself doesn't signify anything, but there is an interesting detail in it.
If you were to count the openings in the net around, it adds up to 30. This is on purpose, as there are 30 teams in the league.
5) The half ball
The NBA Finals trophy has a basketball on it, but it is a complete ball. That is not the case for the in-season tournament, and there is a reason for it.
The reason the league went with a cup for this trophy is a nod to other leagues around the world. With this design, it looks similar to other trophies across multiple different sports. One of the most notable events to have a cup trophy is the FIBA World Cup.
