The second annual Emirates NBA Cup was completed on Tuesday night (known as the In-Season Tournament last year). The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 97-81 to be crowned 2024 NBA Cup champions. Giannis Antetokounmpo was the easy choice for NBA Cup MVP. In the finals, he recorded a triple-double finishing with 26 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Last year, the Los Angeles Lakers won the then-known as In-Season Tournament. While there was a lot of scrutiny from outsiders as the 17-time NBA champions hung a banner for the accomplishment, they will forever be known as the inaugural champions.
Through two years, there is both a coach (Darvin Ham) and a player (Taurean Prince) that can declare themselves as two-time NBA Cup champions.
The Best Coach In NBA (Cup) History
Darvin Ham Is A Two-Time NBA Cup Champion As A Coach
Darvin Ham carved out an eight-year playing career in the NBA during the late 1990s-early 2000s. The 6-foot-7 forward was a member of the 2004-05 Detroit Pistons, a team that took home an NBA title.
Currently, he is an assistant under head coach Doc Rivers with the Bucks. Milwaukee finished the NBA Cup 4-0 in group play before winning their quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals matchups. Their 16-point win in the finals came much easier than their five-point win in the quarterfinals over the Orlando Magic and an eight-point win against the Atlanta Hawks in the semifinals.
Last season, the 51-year-old Ham was the head coach of the Lakers. While he was fired by the organization once the year was complete, he once again had success in the tournament. They won all four of their group stage outings by a combined 74 points. Ham’s Los Angeles squad then took care of business in the quarterfinals winning a close game against the Phoenix Suns by three. Their semifinals contest was won by a whopping 44 points over the New Orleans Pelicans. They defeated the Indiana Pacers by 14 in the finals.
Add it all up, and Ham now owns a 14-0 record in NBA Cup action. If every game was an NBA Cup matchup, the Lakers would certainly never have canned Ham after just two seasons. Unfortunately for him, both of his Lakers teams fell to the Denver Nuggets in the postseason.
Taurean Prince Is A Two-Time NBA Cup Champion As A Player
Not only was Ham behind the sideline for both NBA Cup championship teams, but Taurean Prince was on the court for both as well. Now in his ninth NBA season, the 30-year-old Prince is a full-time starter on the 2024 NBA Cup champions, the Bucks. At the moment, he is leading the league in three-point accuracy at 51.6%. Last season, Prince was a member of the 2023 NBA Cup champions, the Lakers. So just like Ham, Prince is a two-time NBA Cup champion.
Milwaukee signed Prince to a one-year deal in the offseason. Perhaps a team that knows they have no shot at the NBA championship next season should hire Ham as head coach and sign Prince as a free agent. No, they won’t contend for an NBA title, but at least they’d win the 2025 NBA Cup.
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