By Marcus Thompson II | The Athletic, 2025-12-12 14:01:07
The Athletic为您带来2025年NBA杯半决赛的实时报道。
或许，一个崛起王朝的威势能给NBA杯的拉斯维加斯站注入一些额外的激情。NBA卫冕冠军俄克拉荷马城雷霆队看起来，历史是他们唯一的对手。他们在追逐十年前斯蒂芬·库里 (Stephen Curry) 的金州勇士，三十年前迈克尔·乔丹 (Michael Jordan) 的芝加哥公牛。还有谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander)，我的天，他已经开始雕琢自己的名人堂半身像了。
更妙的是，如果雷霆队受到压迫，那将激起更大的悬念。他们之前就像穿着法兰绒衬衫，骑着沙滩巡洋舰自行车在NBA闲庭信步。若是被迎头痛击，那将会是一出好戏。
又或者，纽约尼克斯队的球迷会点燃现场，注入那种在杰伦·布伦森 (Jalen Brunson) 球衣底下套着连帽衫的硬核能量。只可惜洛杉矶湖人没能进入半决赛，否则必将火花四溅。
但随着NBA转战“罪恶之城”，这项季中锦标赛的上限依旧是个未知数。这一次的比赛似乎有沦为哑炮的可能。拉斯维加斯对NBA杯的反响可能不温不火。联盟在夏季联赛中所享受到的那种活力，在12月份是很难重现的。而且，雷霆队很有可能把这个周末变成一场冬季AAU锦标赛——并且他们还带齐了所有伪造的出生证明。
更不用说，在赌博丑闻笼罩联盟的阴影下前往拉斯维加斯，势必会分散人们对比赛本身的关注，或者至少会让联盟面临曝出新丑闻的风险。
更乐观的看法是，维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 将在圣安东尼奥马刺队复出，并给俄克拉荷马城带来一场硬仗。而尼克斯队则会展现出一些冠军级别的韧性。
NBA杯半决赛观赛指南
想去现场观赛？ 点此在StubHub购票。
场馆： T-Mobile Arena — 拉斯维加斯
| 比赛 | 时间 (美东时间) | 电视频道 | 流媒体 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 尼克斯 vs. 魔术 | 周六下午5:30 | Prime Video | Prime Video |
| 雷霆 vs. 马刺 | 周六晚上9:00 | Prime Video | Prime Video |
然而，无论如何，这些都无法回答那个更大的问题：这项赛事是否已成气候？或者正在朝着某个特别的方向发展？以及，究竟要怎样才能让它达到那个高度？
答案既简单又复杂：将这项杯赛向全世界开放。
欧洲篮球联赛 (Euroleague) 也正值赛季中期。以某种方式让他们参与进来，将使其成为篮球史上的一项创举。想象一下，如果四支NBA球队与来自法国联赛的欧洲联赛劲旅摩纳哥、来自西班牙的瓦伦西亚、来自澳大利亚的墨尔本联队以及来自土耳其篮球超级联赛的费内巴切同场竞技，那会是怎样的场面。甚至可以再加入最强的G联赛球队。猛龙905队目前战绩为12胜0负。
既然NBA已经和阿联酋航空深度合作，那就干脆把四强赛放在迪拜办。放手去做吧。
可以肯定的是，NBA杯具有一定程度的吸引力。球员们的投入为赛季初的比赛增添了一丝火辣的调味料。菲尼克斯太阳队后卫格雷森·阿伦 (Grayson Allen) 在周三的比赛中火药味十足，他冲撞雷霆队大个子切特·霍姆格伦 (Chet Holmgren) 的那股劲头，就好像他已经对赢得冠军后的那50万美元奖金势在必得了。
NBA球员带着情绪打球总归是件好事。但仅仅因此就将NBA杯视为成功，感觉有点像圣诞节只收到了袜子和内裤。是的，你会感激有新的贴身衣物，但它毕竟不是一台XBox游戏机。
本赛季观看小组赛的人数超过了前两年。NBA宣布，超过4000万观众通过亚马逊、ESPN和NBC收看了比赛——这三家平台合计播出了60场小组赛中的15场。
也许这已经足够了——在赛季初期吸引更多眼球。解决那些花里胡哨的球场设计问题，并期待一些精彩瞬间来保持赛事的吸引力。但这些数据也表明，或许值得投入更多巧思，看看它的潜力究竟有多大。对于一个习惯于创造闪光点的联盟来说，这无疑是一次稳妥的尝试。
文班可能会为我们献上一场表演。保罗·班凯罗 (Paolo Banchero) 若能在这个周末迎来自己的“成名之战”，那将是一大看点。雷霆与尼克斯之间潜在的NBA总决赛预演也可能让人大饱眼福。只是不确定这些是否足以吸引更广泛的篮球观众，尤其是在大多数NBA顶级球星都缺席的情况下。但我们这些铁杆球迷倒是可以尽情享受这四强赛。
你很难不觉得NBA杯这事儿有点意思。感觉它距离成为一项常规赛事只有一两个调整之遥，就像附加赛已经深深烙印在我们的意识中一样。
要想让这项赛事变得不朽，需要的不仅仅是球员们在场上拼尽全力。联盟和国家篮球运动员协会 (National Basketball Players Association) 必须深思熟虑，他们到底有多想把这项赛事变成一项能够改变格局的创举。
初衷是好的。怀旧和传统对新生代没有那么大的吸引力。在一个不断变化的时代，联盟寻求自我革新是明智之举。与全明星赛的赛制改革不同，NBA杯给人的感觉更多是创新，而非孤注一掷。
《十一罗汉》风格的广告、特色球场以及给球员的额外奖金，这是一个不错的开始。这足以吸引亚马逊的加入，也足以让我们对未来充满好奇。
也许三年时间不足以做出重大改变。或许五年会是一个更好的观察窗口。这是可以接受的。
但如果它仅限于此呢？只是赋予了常规赛一点额外的意义，外加一些噱头让比赛感觉不同？当然，这也不错。就像收到袜子和内裤当礼物一样，还行吧。
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由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：Could taking the NBA Cup global help the tournament live up to its lofty ambitions?
Could taking the NBA Cup global help the tournament live up to its lofty ambitions?
The Athletic has live coverage of the 2025 NBA Cup semifinals.
Perhaps the awe of an erecting dynasty would give the Las Vegas portion of the NBA Cup some extra juice. The defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder look as if history is their only competition. They’re chasing Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors from a decade ago. Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls from 30 years ago. And Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, my goodness, he’s started chiseling his Hall of Fame bust.
Even better, the Thunder getting pressed would spark intrigue. They’ve been roaming the NBA in a flannel shirt on a beach cruiser. Getting punched in the mouth would make for great theater.
Or maybe the New York Knicks fans will rummage the scene, inject some hardcore hoodie-under-Jalen-Brunson-jersey energy. If only the Los Angeles Lakers had made it to the semifinals. That would’ve added electricity.
But as the NBA heads to Sin City, the ceiling of the NBA’s in-season tournament remains a question. This one seems to have some dud potential. Las Vegas can be lukewarm on the NBA Cup. That summer league energy the league enjoys is harder to regenerate in December. And the likelihood is high that the Thunder turn this weekend into a winter AAU tournament — and they’ve got all the doctored birth certificates.
Not to mention, going to Vegas with the gambling scandals hanging over the league will surely distract from the storylines. Or at least put the league at risk for new ones.
A more optimistic view sees Victor Wembanyama returning to action for San Antonio and give Oklahoma City a fight. And the Knicks showing some championship mettle.
NBA Cup semifinals TV guide
Watching in person? Get tickets on StubHub.
Venue: T-Mobile Arena — Las Vegas
| Game | Time (ET) | TV | Stream |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knicks vs. Magic | 5:30 p.m., Sat. | Prime Video | Prime Video |
| Thunder vs. Spurs | 9 p.m., Sat. | Prime Video | Prime Video |
Neither, however, answers the bigger question of whether this is a thing. Or trending toward something special. And what could potentially take it there.
The simple but complicated answer is to open up the Cup to the world.
Euroleague is in midseason as well. Getting them to participate somehow would turn this into something novel in basketball history. Imagine if the four teams from the NBA were joined by Euroleague’s AS Monaco from the French league, Valencia Basket from Spain, Melbourne United from Australia, and Fenerbahçe from the Turkish Basketball Super League. Even throw in the best G League team. Raptors 905 is currently 12-0.
And since the NBA’s already in bed with Emirates, put the final four in Dubai. Lean in.
For sure, the NBA Cup boasts some level of appeal. The players’ buy-in splashes a little hot sauce onto the early-season offerings. Phoenix Suns guard Grayson Allen got spicy Wednesday, running over Thunder big man Chet Holmgren like he had plans for that half a mil bonus that comes with winning the tournament.
It’s always a good thing when NBA players perform with some edge. But deeming the NBA Cup a success solely for that feels a bit like getting socks and briefs for Christmas. Yeah, you appreciate fresh undergarments. But it’s not an XBox.
More people watched group play this season than the first two years. The NBA announced more than 40 million people tuned in to games across Amazon, ESPN and NBC — which combined to air 15 of the 60 group-play games.
Maybe that’s enough — more eyes in the sunrise of the season. Fix the issue with the candy-coated courts and hope for some moments to keep it interesting. But those numbers also suggest it might be worth mustering more ingenuity to see how big it can get. It’s a safe bet in a league that habitually conjures scintillation.
Wemby could give us a show. A Paolo Banchero coming-out party this weekend would be something to see. Or a potential NBA Finals preview between the Thunder and Knicks could be satiating. It’s just not certain that any of that does the trick for the larger basketball audience, especially since most of the biggest NBA names are absent. But we diehards could feast on this final four.
It’s hard not to feel like something’s there with the NBA Cup. Like it’s one or two adjustments from becoming a staple, in the way the play-in tournament has been ingrained in our consciousness.
It’s going to take something more than players going hard to make this monumental. The league, and the National Basketball Players Association, will have to think long and hard how much they want to turn this into something game-changing.
The intentions are noble. Nostalgia and tradition aren’t as attractive to the rising generations. The league is smart to look for ways to recreate itself in an ever-changing landscape. Unlike the All-Star Game format, the NBA Cup feels more innovative than desperate.
The Oceans 11-esque commercials and specialty courts, and extra payday for players, that’s a good start. It was enough to lure Amazon. Enough to make us interested in what’s next.
Perhaps three years isn’t enough time for significant alterations. Maybe five years gives a better window of possibility. That’s acceptable.
But if it’s just this? Regular-season games with a touch of extra meaning, and a few gimmicks to make them feel different? Sure, it’s fine. Socks-and-briefs fine.
Streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic*. Restrictions may apply.*The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process, and do not review stories before publication.
By Marcus Thompson II, via The Athletic