December 17, 2025 • 9 mins
The New York Knicks have captured their first NBA Cup title, and fans are celebrating like it’s a championship 50 years in the making. But does this midseason victory actually matter? Critics argue the NBA Cup is more of a morale booster than a marker of true greatness, especially as past winners have flamed out early in the playoffs. Some fans are calling it false optimism, while others say the team’s energy and cohesion could fuel a legitimate postseason run. Meanwhile, others are debating whether the NBA Cup should evolve into a global-style tournament featuring international competition to boost fan engagement.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The last two teams that won the Emmirans Cup, right
the NBA Cup lost in the first round of playoffs.
So you know, listen, if this is what you guys
want to hang your hat on it, this is the
championship that matters the most of you go off, King
go crazy.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Rodney, New York Knicks fans are probably still partying in
the streets after the Knicks took down the Spurs in
the NBA Cup. Now, I've seen some Knicks fans saying
that this is the first real cup championship. They're not
even you know, they don't care about the previous two years, right,
they only care about this one. It's been fifty plus
years since the Knicks have won anything. They are excited.
(00:43):
Do you feel like they are justified in their excitement
or is this just really like another game?
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Yeah? I love when the Knicks have a level of
optimism and irrational confidence about that team. Now, granted, this
Knicks team is good, but to watch Knicks fans heartbreak
annually in the playoffs when they have all that is
hope in their hearts is one of my greatest life's pleasures.
And I just want to go on the record. The
last two teams that won the Immorans Cup, right, the
(01:12):
NBA Cup lost in the first round of playoffs. So
you know, listen, if this is what you guys want
to hang your hat on it, this is the championship
that matters the most of you go off king go crazy.
But for me, I just look at this as a
way to create false optimism for what this team is
capable of, or perhaps they are so fulfilled by this
(01:35):
victory that they forget about what the real mission is,
which of course is an NBA championship.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yeah, you know, honestly, I didn't watch the game. I
really forgot that it was happening, to be honest, so
I had to go. I did, Like, I haven't really
been watching a lot of NBA. Like last night for
some reason, I had like a Bowl game on TV.
I go to beer. Really, like, I honestly didn't know
that it was going on, respect I mean as far
as the game. It's interesting, right, I read this article
(02:03):
from The Athletic this morning, and they polled like seventy
thousand people or something like that, either seventeen or seventy
I don't know either way. They polled thousands of people
and majority of them did not care that the Cup
was going on. I think, unfortunately, we have found this
thing where the players care because of the financial game.
And I think it's interesting, like you just mentioned, maybe
(02:25):
they're going to lose sight of the actual, you know,
postseason because maybe they've made so much money. I think
they brought home five hundred and thirty something thousand dollars
before tax, money that they would make if they had
a postseason birth.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
So I don't know.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
I think the question is maybe getting more of the
fans involved. So in that article from The Athletic, they
brought up something that I thought was kind of like hmm,
like it made me scratch my head a little bit,
but maybe making it more like the European Cup in soccer,
where you're not playing teams from your lead, you're playing
teams from all over. So what if the NBA brought
(03:05):
in International Real Madrid.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
That would be an interesting concept. I think the talent
disparity is just so wide that I don't really know
how competitive it would be for real for real, But
I'll say this, I think the NBA has done a
phenomenal job with the Emirates Cup. I think the thing
that a lot of people talk negatively about the NBA
for is the fact that people don't play hard until
the playoffs and you have so many games, and so
(03:35):
I think the Emirates Cup, these guys are actually really
trying to go out there and win and compete. The
energy in yesterday's game was through the roof, and same
thing for the semi finals and quarter finals matchup matchups.
So I think the NBA has done something really great
in getting their players to care about something and so,
but it is kind of niche. Everybody in my orbit
(03:56):
is like was locked in yesterday and was like waiting
for this matchup, waiting to see how these young Spurs
would match up against you know, these veteran Nicks and
see what could come about this game. So for you
to say that you didn't even know it was really on,
it's like, Dang, I guess I really do live in
a bubble. I live in a bit of a silo.
Because when you care about the NBA, when you saw
the Imbrige Cup final was what's coming up this week?
(04:18):
You made short that you canceled things on your calendar.
That's what we all did. So I'm actually like, Dang,
I ain't recognized that so many people were disinterested in
the game because I was waiting for this for a week.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
And I think also too, it was exclusive to a
streaming service, you know what I mean, Like if it
was on regular TV, you know, when I turn on
my YouTube TV, I would have saw it and I'm like, oh,
I didn't even know this game was on, and then
I probably would have tuned in. But in order for
me to watch that, I would have had to go
over to Prime, and I did not do that. So
I think that that could be something else too moving forward.
(04:51):
I know that Prime pays a lot of money to
be able to do these games, but I think for
a wider spread audience, maybe make it. I don't know.
I hate to say that, but it's just that's a
thing too.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
That's a great point. I do a lot of work
in prisons, as you know, and so one of the
things that I talked about the last time I went
into a prison a couple of weeks ago, was like,
all of these games, be it NBA or NFL, being
on streaming platforms limits the opportunity for the inmates to
watch a lot of sporting events, and you know, in
that environment, you know, watching sports is something that they
kind of galvanizes the yard. It galvanize the penitentiary. So
(05:26):
I know most people probably don't care about that, but
it's something that has always been on my mind, Like damn, like,
how the brothers and assistants behind the wall going to
be able to engage and indulge in sports if everything
is behind the streaming platform, Like that's a that's a
really good point. It takes away the opportunity for the
casual fan to have the experience of watching it, and
that's that's to the detriment of the sport. In my opinion.
It's you know, while there's a lot of streaming, there's
(05:48):
billions of dollars in streaming for sure, without the eyeballs
of the casual fan, what's the true value of it.
I want to talk really quickly about some something flagrant
that took place in the aftermath of yesterday's game. Hey,
Josh hart Man, you can't be putting your thumb on
in your Homeboys broody in the post game recap, bro
(06:09):
like and like he's front it was, bro he forgot
where he was. Your man's about to win the MVP,
and you putting your thumb in his butt, Like, what
are we doing? That is crazy?
Speaker 2 (06:20):
He forgot where he was.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Yeah, he' been flagering all week. The other day he said,
inch per inch, he's the best sout there. He's been
tweaking all week long. He's been like super homo erotic
Josh Hard. You gotta you gotta cool it out, brother.
You acting like one of those frat frat house white boys.
It's not okay. It's not a good look.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Man. No, that is that is pretty bad. We're filming
this at ten fifty Eastern time. Rodney. Do you feel
do you still feel like Knicks fans are celebrating in
New York?
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Oh yeah, definitely. My man cast shout out to cast
seven pm in Brooklyn and a Fumble alumni. He's still
on threads going crazy. You know when you ain't never
had nothing. This is like the knicks first bat. It's
like when you get your first bad joint. You don't
really know how to handle it for real. You'd be
so put it on a pedestal. You think it's the
end all be all. So, like I said, I'm really
(07:07):
thankful that the Knicks have the opportunity to win something
that can divert their attention to the real mission. But
for the Spurs, I'll say this, the Spurs are very dangerous.
I said this early on in the season. The Spurs
legitimately have a chance to make it out of the
Western Conference. I know that sounds crazy because they're so young,
they're so unproven. It does not matter. This Spurs team
(07:29):
has elite guard played. Stefan castle Is in my opinion,
he's a top ten guard in the league right now
to me, just because of what he does on both
offense and defense. You pair that with Wimby, you pay
that with Darreon Fox, who did not play so great
last night, and Dylan Harper, who in my opinion, is
the best rookie in this year. I don't care about
what Cooper Flag has been doing with nobody on this team.
(07:49):
He's taking all the shots. Dylan Harper, for me, pound
for pound, is the best rookie in this year's class.
They have a lot of death, still have Keldon Johnson,
still have Devin Vessel. They're just a really deep team
and they match up incredibly well with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
We all know that Wimby hates Chet Holmgren, and so
that extra incentive as well if they match up in
(08:10):
the playoffs. I'm looking forward to seeing how these teams
stack up because I legitimately feel like the San Antonio Spurs,
especially with the loss like this. Womby was pissed yesterday.
Womy does not like to lose. So these guys have
a chance to make it out the Western Conference. It
might sound hyperbolic, but they have enough depth, intellect, heart
and talent, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this
(08:32):
year closes out.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Man, I can think Wimby was capable of hating anybody. Anyways,
let's hear your thoughts down below in the comments. You
all let us know what you made of the NBA
Cup One. Did you watch it? Are you excited for
the Knicks? Do you feel like this is going to
spearhead them making a long run in the postseason or
(08:53):
are they going to do like the previous winners in
fall flat early on? Let us knock down.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Yes and let us pray for the Nick's downfall. Also,
we have a newsletter, the Linkers in the bio, keeping
you afloat on all things going on in the world
of sports. Tap in. We got some big stories breaking today.
We'll talk about those as well, because there's a lot
of going on in the world of sports. You've seen
Bud Crawford retired, did you see that? Then Carlos Alcaraz
broke up with his longtime coach. It's a lot these
(09:20):
you know, outside the school of NBA NFL like, these
are things that I care about passionately, so I look
forward to talking about them on the outside platform to
them fumble. You know, we have a lot of things
under the U. Brother, what I'm saying, it's a lot.
It's a lot under the sunflower bucket hat.
The last two teams that won the Emmirans Cup, right
the NBA Cup lost in the first round of playoffs.
So you know, listen, if this is what you guys
want to hang your hat on it, this is the
championship that matters the most of you go off, King
go crazy.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Rodney, New York Knicks fans are probably still partying in
the streets after the Knicks took down the Spurs in
the NBA Cup. Now, I've seen some Knicks fans saying
that this is the first real cup championship. They're not
even you know, they don't care about the previous two years, right,
they only care about this one. It's been fifty plus
years since the Knicks have won anything. They are excited.
(00:43):
Do you feel like they are justified in their excitement
or is this just really like another game?
Speaker 1 (00:50):
Yeah? I love when the Knicks have a level of
optimism and irrational confidence about that team. Now, granted, this
Knicks team is good, but to watch Knicks fans heartbreak
annually in the playoffs when they have all that is
hope in their hearts is one of my greatest life's pleasures.
And I just want to go on the record. The
last two teams that won the Immorans Cup, right, the
(01:12):
NBA Cup lost in the first round of playoffs. So
you know, listen, if this is what you guys want
to hang your hat on it, this is the championship
that matters the most of you go off king go crazy.
But for me, I just look at this as a
way to create false optimism for what this team is
capable of, or perhaps they are so fulfilled by this
(01:35):
victory that they forget about what the real mission is,
which of course is an NBA championship.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yeah, you know, honestly, I didn't watch the game. I
really forgot that it was happening, to be honest, so
I had to go. I did, Like, I haven't really
been watching a lot of NBA. Like last night for
some reason, I had like a Bowl game on TV.
I go to beer. Really, like, I honestly didn't know
that it was going on, respect I mean as far
as the game. It's interesting, right, I read this article
(02:03):
from The Athletic this morning, and they polled like seventy
thousand people or something like that, either seventeen or seventy
I don't know either way. They polled thousands of people
and majority of them did not care that the Cup
was going on. I think, unfortunately, we have found this
thing where the players care because of the financial game.
And I think it's interesting, like you just mentioned, maybe
(02:25):
they're going to lose sight of the actual, you know,
postseason because maybe they've made so much money. I think
they brought home five hundred and thirty something thousand dollars
before tax, money that they would make if they had
a postseason birth.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
So I don't know.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
I think the question is maybe getting more of the
fans involved. So in that article from The Athletic, they
brought up something that I thought was kind of like hmm,
like it made me scratch my head a little bit,
but maybe making it more like the European Cup in soccer,
where you're not playing teams from your lead, you're playing
teams from all over. So what if the NBA brought
(03:05):
in International Real Madrid.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
That would be an interesting concept. I think the talent
disparity is just so wide that I don't really know
how competitive it would be for real for real, But
I'll say this, I think the NBA has done a
phenomenal job with the Emirates Cup. I think the thing
that a lot of people talk negatively about the NBA
for is the fact that people don't play hard until
the playoffs and you have so many games, and so
(03:35):
I think the Emirates Cup, these guys are actually really
trying to go out there and win and compete. The
energy in yesterday's game was through the roof, and same
thing for the semi finals and quarter finals matchup matchups.
So I think the NBA has done something really great
in getting their players to care about something and so,
but it is kind of niche. Everybody in my orbit
(03:56):
is like was locked in yesterday and was like waiting
for this matchup, waiting to see how these young Spurs
would match up against you know, these veteran Nicks and
see what could come about this game. So for you
to say that you didn't even know it was really on,
it's like, Dang, I guess I really do live in
a bubble. I live in a bit of a silo.
Because when you care about the NBA, when you saw
the Imbrige Cup final was what's coming up this week?
(04:18):
You made short that you canceled things on your calendar.
That's what we all did. So I'm actually like, Dang,
I ain't recognized that so many people were disinterested in
the game because I was waiting for this for a week.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
And I think also too, it was exclusive to a
streaming service, you know what I mean, Like if it
was on regular TV, you know, when I turn on
my YouTube TV, I would have saw it and I'm like, oh,
I didn't even know this game was on, and then
I probably would have tuned in. But in order for
me to watch that, I would have had to go
over to Prime, and I did not do that. So
I think that that could be something else too moving forward.
(04:51):
I know that Prime pays a lot of money to
be able to do these games, but I think for
a wider spread audience, maybe make it. I don't know.
I hate to say that, but it's just that's a
thing too.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
That's a great point. I do a lot of work
in prisons, as you know, and so one of the
things that I talked about the last time I went
into a prison a couple of weeks ago, was like,
all of these games, be it NBA or NFL, being
on streaming platforms limits the opportunity for the inmates to
watch a lot of sporting events, and you know, in
that environment, you know, watching sports is something that they
kind of galvanizes the yard. It galvanize the penitentiary. So
(05:26):
I know most people probably don't care about that, but
it's something that has always been on my mind, Like damn, like,
how the brothers and assistants behind the wall going to
be able to engage and indulge in sports if everything
is behind the streaming platform, Like that's a that's a
really good point. It takes away the opportunity for the
casual fan to have the experience of watching it, and
that's that's to the detriment of the sport. In my opinion.
It's you know, while there's a lot of streaming, there's
(05:48):
billions of dollars in streaming for sure, without the eyeballs
of the casual fan, what's the true value of it.
I want to talk really quickly about some something flagrant
that took place in the aftermath of yesterday's game. Hey,
Josh hart Man, you can't be putting your thumb on
in your Homeboys broody in the post game recap, bro
(06:09):
like and like he's front it was, bro he forgot
where he was. Your man's about to win the MVP,
and you putting your thumb in his butt, Like, what
are we doing? That is crazy?
Speaker 2 (06:20):
He forgot where he was.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Yeah, he' been flagering all week. The other day he said,
inch per inch, he's the best sout there. He's been
tweaking all week long. He's been like super homo erotic
Josh Hard. You gotta you gotta cool it out, brother.
You acting like one of those frat frat house white boys.
It's not okay. It's not a good look.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Man. No, that is that is pretty bad. We're filming
this at ten fifty Eastern time. Rodney. Do you feel
do you still feel like Knicks fans are celebrating in
New York?
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Oh yeah, definitely. My man cast shout out to cast
seven pm in Brooklyn and a Fumble alumni. He's still
on threads going crazy. You know when you ain't never
had nothing. This is like the knicks first bat. It's
like when you get your first bad joint. You don't
really know how to handle it for real. You'd be
so put it on a pedestal. You think it's the
end all be all. So, like I said, I'm really
(07:07):
thankful that the Knicks have the opportunity to win something
that can divert their attention to the real mission. But
for the Spurs, I'll say this, the Spurs are very dangerous.
I said this early on in the season. The Spurs
legitimately have a chance to make it out of the
Western Conference. I know that sounds crazy because they're so young,
they're so unproven. It does not matter. This Spurs team
(07:29):
has elite guard played. Stefan castle Is in my opinion,
he's a top ten guard in the league right now
to me, just because of what he does on both
offense and defense. You pair that with Wimby, you pay
that with Darreon Fox, who did not play so great
last night, and Dylan Harper, who in my opinion, is
the best rookie in this year. I don't care about
what Cooper Flag has been doing with nobody on this team.
(07:49):
He's taking all the shots. Dylan Harper, for me, pound
for pound, is the best rookie in this year's class.
They have a lot of death, still have Keldon Johnson,
still have Devin Vessel. They're just a really deep team
and they match up incredibly well with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
We all know that Wimby hates Chet Holmgren, and so
that extra incentive as well if they match up in
(08:10):
the playoffs. I'm looking forward to seeing how these teams
stack up because I legitimately feel like the San Antonio Spurs,
especially with the loss like this. Womby was pissed yesterday.
Womy does not like to lose. So these guys have
a chance to make it out the Western Conference. It
might sound hyperbolic, but they have enough depth, intellect, heart
and talent, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this
(08:32):
year closes out.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Man, I can think Wimby was capable of hating anybody. Anyways,
let's hear your thoughts down below in the comments. You
all let us know what you made of the NBA
Cup One. Did you watch it? Are you excited for
the Knicks? Do you feel like this is going to
spearhead them making a long run in the postseason or
(08:53):
are they going to do like the previous winners in
fall flat early on? Let us knock down.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Yes and let us pray for the Nick's downfall. Also,
we have a newsletter, the Linkers in the bio, keeping
you afloat on all things going on in the world
of sports. Tap in. We got some big stories breaking today.
We'll talk about those as well, because there's a lot
of going on in the world of sports. You've seen
Bud Crawford retired, did you see that? Then Carlos Alcaraz
broke up with his longtime coach. It's a lot these
(09:20):
you know, outside the school of NBA NFL like, these
are things that I care about passionately, so I look
forward to talking about them on the outside platform to
them fumble. You know, we have a lot of things
under the U. Brother, what I'm saying, it's a lot.
It's a lot under the sunflower bucket hat.
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