Winning is what matters, not the NBA Cup

The Suns won their game and didn’t make the NBA Cup. Good.

When the Phoenix Suns schedule is released each summer, we pull out our Sherlock Holmesian magnifying glasses, keenly look up and down the matchups, and see where the opportunity lies. We tally back-to-backs, note how long road trips are, and see if any breaks occur.

Over the past two seasons, since the introduction of the In-Season Tournament…or Emirates NBA Cup, or whatever sponsor they choose next year to try to snag a few more fans worldwide because the product is being passed over locally (State Bank of India NBA Cup, anyone?)…each team has been provided with 80 games on their schedule. Why? Because if you advance to the knockout round, you’ve earned your next two games.

And if you don’t advance? The NBA will fill your schedule with two more games.

We experienced this last season when the Suns made the Western Conference In-Season Tournament knockout round, along with the Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, and New Orleans Pelicans. Phoenix lost their first game against the Lakers, and therefore had to play the loser of the Pelicans/Kings matchup, which ended up being Sacramento. Phoenix lost that game too.

Fast forward to this season, where the Suns were once again fighting for a chance to become the fourth seed in the NBA Cup. They entered Tuesday night with a 2-1 record in the Cup standings, and if they could take care of business against the San Antonio Spurs, they had a shot at advancing to the KO round.

Phoenix handled theirs, downing the Spurs 104-93, but with Oklahoma City and Dallas both winning, the Suns were left out of the tournament.

Good.

Let’s remind ourselves that this NBA Cup tournament doesn’t matter. Like, at all. There is nothing gained other than some extra cash for millionaires. You don’t get an extra draft pick out of it, nor do you garner an automatic bid to the postseason. Teams get a trophy and bragging rights that are the weakest bragging rights possible. Like, when do you brag about winning the NBA Cup? At Christmas dinner? To the guy working the window at Taco Bell?

“Yo, can I get an extra nacho cheese sauce? We won the NBA Cup back in ‘24.”

Are they going to have reunions in 20 years for the guys who won the NBA Cup? “We couldn’t get Red Panda to juggle her little heart out while on a unicycle, so here are the 2023 NBA Cup winners, the Lakers! Sorry, LeBron couldn’t make it, but we’ve got Maxwell Lewis, Max Christie, and Jalen Hood-Schifino! Ooooo…and they had matching jackets made!”

Fun Fact: If you play in the NBA Cup championship game, that game doesn’t even count towards your record. So you are playing a team that is clearly hot and, if you win, you get a hat and a trophy, but no record of it on Basketball Reference.

And that is why what the Phoenix Suns did on Tuesday night was Hannah Montana-ish. They got the best of both worlds.

The Suns did what mattered: they won the game. Sure, they went 3-1 in NBA Cup play, but because the Dallas Mavericks out-point-differentialed them, they are the only 3-1 not to go to the knockout round. So instead of playing the Oklahoma City Thunder next week, and potentially the Golden State Warriors or Houston Rockets, the NBA flexed two games into their schedule. Those games? The 4-18 Utah Jazz and the 8-14 Portland Trail Blazers.

So you mean the Suns went 3-1, and their reward is playing two of the worst teams in the Western Conference? In games that count towards their schedule? Remind me…what’s the incentive for trying to win the NBA Cup? Harder competition and a hat?

Now, I know there is a contingent out there that is pro-NBA Cup. That likes the early season engagement, the bright courts, the playing to the buzzer, and the competition that ensues. My question to you is, doing my best possible Michael Scott impression, “Why are you the way that you are?”

I’m sure there are those out there saying, “John, why wouldn’t we want to see them play against the Thunder? To be the best you gotta beat the best. Why avoid playing them?” Bring on the Thunder! But let’s do it in the postseason. You know, that thing that matters.

I think back to last season, when the Suns made the In-Season Tournament but went 0-2. Imagine a world where they didn’t make it and were rewarded with easier completion. Two more wins? They could’ve been the fifth seed in the postseason instead of the sixth, and who knows what sliding door that would’ve opened.

So shucks. Darn. Drats. They didn’t make the NBA Cup.

But last night, they did what we wanted them to do, especially against a team that owned us last year. They won. And their reward? It’s better than any New Era hat. It’s a chance to improve their record against weak teams and a week off to boot. That’s right. The Suns have a back-to-back in Florida this weekend and don’t play again until Saturday the 15th. Plenty of time to rest up.

Now, what’s the point of the NBA Cup?