LAS VEGAS — When the Bucks clinched their spot in the NBA Cup championship game, plenty of the team’s younger and lesser-paid players were exuberant in the locker room.
Yes, they have a chance at a trophy. Those are nice.
They’ll also have a chance at their biggest payday of their careers. The NBA Cup final — the Bucks vs. the Thunder — is Tuesday in Las Vegas, with an additional $308,983 in prize money going to each of the players on the winning team.
For the league’s superstars, that amount might represent a game’s pay — or maybe even a half-game’s pay. For much of the league, it’s still a colossal sum.
“I try not to think about the money,” said Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who’s making about $48.8 million this season. “No, it’s not accurate what I’m saying. I think about the money — but I think about the money when we talk about the young guys.”
Winning players Tuesday will receive $514,971 from the league’s Cup prize pool if they’re on standard NBA contracts. The players on the losing team Tuesday will get $205,988 apiece; players on two-way deals will get half of those figures.
At his current salary of $578,577, Thunder two-way player Ajay Mitchell would be making about $7,056 per game. He’s going to do a lot better than that on Tuesday, win or lose.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of money on the line,” Mitchell said. “But my main focus is just on the win. It’s exciting to know that there’s money on the line, but the main focus is just winning another basketball game.”
The NBA Cup has a prize pool to incentivize players. The teams that lost in the semifinals — the Hawks and Rockets — saw their players collect $102,994 each; the teams that bowed out in the quarterfinals — the Knicks, Magic, Warriors and Mavericks — saw their players collect $51,497 apiece.
“I might get a new watch,” Knicks forward Josh Hart, who was asked what he’d do with his bonus, said in a response that went viral — and it should be noted he wasn’t being entirely serious. “I don’t really care about the young guys getting money. I only care about me, what I’m going to spend.”
For six of the players on the Bucks and Thunder rosters — Antetokounmpo and Bucks teammates Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez, along with the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Isaiah Hartenstein — the difference between winning and losing Tuesday isn’t even an average day at the office. Those six guys, on average, are making about $443,300 per game.
For everyone else, the trip to Vegas will be a nice bump — some nicer than others.
“Not everybody gets the same paycheck in the NBA,” said Thunder forward Jalen Williams, who’s making about $4.8 million this season. “We have guys that are on two-way contracts and some guys that are fighting to stay in the league. So, obviously, that money is a bigger deal for some people than others — so we definitely play for that.”
Bucks reserve A.J. Green makes about $2.1 million this season.
The idea of adding $500,000 to that for winning one game blew his mind.
“It is crazy,” Green said. “But that shouldn’t make you play any harder. It really shouldn’t.”