Tonight, the NBA Cup Finals take place in Las Vegas as the Milwaukee Bucks are taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder. The game will air on ABC at 8:30 PM ET. The team that wins will see each player earn an extra $514,970. The losing team will earn $205,988 per player.
For players such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton, and Brook Lopez of the Bucks as well as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Isaiah Hartenstein of the Thunder, that extra money seems like chump change compared to what they are making on their contract. For others, that sum of extra cash can help immensely.
Here are the players in the NBA Cup Finals that will be most helped out from the winnings. Let’s start with the two-way players who are making $578,577.
Which Players In Finals Could Most Use NBA Cup Winnings?
Thunder Two-Way Players
The 38th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, the 22-year-old Mitchell certainly wasn’t expected to make much of an impact as a rookie. That’s especially true being he would be joining a Thunder team that was the top seed in the Western Conference last season. Instead, the 6-foot-5 shooting guard has appeared in all 25 games for Oklahoma City, playing 15.7 minutes per contest. Being two-way players can play up to 50 games in the NBA, Mitchell is a candidate to receive a standard deal later in the season.
Ducas has played in just four games for seven minutes for the Thunder and is listed as out with a back injury. Also listed as out is Flagler (finger), who has appeared in 11 games for Oklahoma City.
Bucks Two-Way Players
Of the three, the 22-year-old Rollins has received the most playing time for Milwaukee this season. He made one start, on November 12, where he scored 12 points and recorded five steals. Altogether, Rollins has played in 11 games while averaging 6.5 minutes. The 6-foot-4 guard is now in his third season after appearing in 25 games over the previous two years with the Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards, and Bucks.
The 25-year-old Umude is also in his third season, after playing in 25 games for the Detroit Pistons over the previous two years. Robbins has played five games for Milwaukee this season.
Others On Both Teams
For the Thunder, Branden Carlson is signed for just this season for less than $1 million ($990,895 to be exact). Undrafted out of Utah in 2024, he originally signed a two-way deal with the Toronto Raptors before being waived. The Thunder signed the 7-foot center in mid-November, and he has since received action in five games for Oklahoma City.
The Bucks don’t have anyone making less than a million not on a two-way, but they have a few players on multi-year deals for less than $2 million a year (or slightly more).
Sharpshooter A.J. Green is in the first year of a three-year deal worth around $6.3 million. Both Andre Jackson Jr. and Chris Livingston are in their second seasons of four-year deals at around $7.64 million. Their second round pick in 2024, Tyler Smith, is on a four-year deal worth about $7.9 million.
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