If you haven’t followed the 2025-26 NBA Cup, then you missed out on a thrilling tournament that’s set to conclude on December 16, live from Las Vegas. The Championship game features the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs in what should be one of the best games of the regular season.

The Knicks downed Toronto in the Quarterfinal Round and then easily dispatched the talented Orlando Magic in the Semifinal Round. New York was favored in both games and enter the NBA Cup Finals as the odds-on favorite to hoist the in-season trophy.

The Spurs shocked the league as they took down the NBA Champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Semifinal Round to snap OKC’s 16-game winning streak and hand them their second loss of the season.

Victor Wembanyama returned from a lengthy injury and he instantly made the Spurs a force to be reckoned with.  The Wemby Effect is alive and well. The rest of the NBA better take notice.

Entering the NBA Cup Quarterfinals, we correctly picked five of the eight teams. From there, we correctly picked three of the final four squads for the Semifinals and went 1-1 in the SF round.

With that said, let’s throw this NBA preview into the paint so we can dunk on the top betting sites and make our predictions as to which team will win the 2025 NBA Cup.

NBA Cup Schedule

Here’s a quick look at the NBA Cup schedule:

• Oct. – Nov. 28: Group Play
• December 9-10: Quarterfinals (at home sites)
• Dec. 13: Semifinals (Las Vegas)
• Dec. 16: Championship (Las Vegas)

This year, the NBA made most of the games on Fridays to simplify the calendar and to make it easier for fans to follow.

For the QF round, the higher seeds will host the matchups. So, the Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors, OKC Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers will all have home games. The winners of these four games will then head to Las Vegas for the Semifinals.

Next year, the league plans to make the Semifinals played at home sites just like the Quarterfinals.

Who Won the NBA Cup?

The inaugural NBA Cup took place in 2023, and it was the Los Angeles Lakers that won the first in-season tournament as they defeated the Indiana Pacers 123-109. For the latter, it was a coming out party as the team went on to have a strong run over the next year. LeBron James won the NBA Cup MVP award.

In 2024, the Milwaukee Bucks upstaged the Oklahoma City Thunder for the NBA Cup by the score of 97-81. However, OKC would go on to win the NBA Championship last season. Giannis Antetokounmpo was named the NBA Cup MVP.

Do NBA Cup Games Count?

Yes, these games count. In fact, the NBA did a good job at ensuring the games mattered by dividing the teams into groups of five and within their respective conferences. For example, the Eastern Conference has three Groups, which makes all of the Group Play games impact Conference and Division records.

The one caveat to this, the Cup Championship game won’t affect either team’s record for the season. While it will still be an 83^rd game for the year, it has no impact on their record.

NBA Cup Odds

The following are the latest NBA Cup odds heading into the Finals:

The NBA Cup Championship has all the makings of an instant classic as two great franchises battle for the third edition of the NBA Cup Trophy.

San Antonio enters this game as the Underdog but have gone 5-1 SU in their last six games and are 7-3 SU as an Underdog on the season. They were a double-digit dog against the Thunder last Saturday, but ended up winning outright.

The New York Knicks have gone 9-1 SU in their last 10 games and have won five in a row entering this Cup Final matchup. New York is 17-5 SU as the favorite this season and plowed through the Knockout Stages as they beat the Raptors by 16 and the Magic by 12.

Keep reading to see who we think will win this Finals matchup, where the value is, and compare our NBA Cup predictions with what the best handicappers are saying heading into the Championship game.

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NBA Cup Finals Predictions

• Date: Saturday, December 13, 2025
• Time: 5:30pm ET
• Channel: Amazon Prime

Jalen Brunson has been on a tear as of late with four straight 30+ point games. He tallied 35 against the Raptors in the QF Round and 40 points against the Magic in the SF Round.

The Spurs will need to minimize Brunson’s impact on this game otherwise they could be in trouble regardless of Wemby or not.

The French phenom played only 21 minutes against the Thunder and he still put up 22 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks. His presence allowed the rest of the Spurs team to increase their defensive pressure and they out-Thundered OKC.

The Knicks are one of the highest scoring teams in the NBA, and the Spurs are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA when Wemby is there.

However, San Antonio can also match the offensive firepower that the Knicks have if this turns into a high scoring game. Against the Thunder, three other players finished with 20+ points just like Wemby: Vassell, Castle, and Fox.

This quarter is joined by a number of talented players like Barnes, Harper, and Johnson. Sochan, Kornet and Champagnie give the Spurs an edge in depth over the Knicks, as well. This team legit runs 10-players deep.

That’s not to take anything away from the Knicks who also have a talented roster with Towns, Bridges, Hart, and Anunoby to complement Brunson.

At the start of the tournament, I picked the Spurs to win it all. Once we hit the QF Round, I jumped to the Thunder due to Wemby being out and the uncertainty over his return timeline. He ended up playing against OKC and helped lead San Antonio to a huge win.

Wembanyama is set to play Tuesday against the Knicks and will still be on a minutes restriction. However, I do expect him to play more than 21 minutes and I expect Wemby to have just as big of an impact on the game, if not more. In his three career games against the Knicks, Wemby has averaged 32 points, 15.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists. He put up 41.0 ppg in his last two matchups versus New York.

Over the last 10 head-to-head meetings, the Knicks hold a 6-4 SU record against the Spurs. Yet, San Antonio is 7-3 ATS over that span. However, over the last three games, the Spurs are 2-1 SU and 3-0 ATS versus the Knicks.

San Antonio has a 112.3 defensive rating with Wemby, and a 117.2 without. The Spurs held OKC to just 109 points in a defensive battle and they will do the same against the Knicks, if not better.

I regret jumping off the Spurs bandwagon last week, but I am driving this train today. I am taking the Spurs to cover this spread and to win the game outright.

I like the Under for this matchup, as well. These two teams combine to allow 227.4 ppg on the season. But, 12 of those games were without Wemby. So, I expect these numbers to dip some due to each team playing a more defensive minded game.

Bet: San Antonio Spurs (+115), Spurs +2.5 (-110), U 227.5 (-110)