2024 NBA Cup championship game

The 2024 NBA Cup championship game was the final game of the second season of the NBA Cup. The game was played on December 17, 2024, in the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada. The game was contested by the Milwaukee Bucks of the Eastern Conference and the Oklahoma City Thunder of the Western Conference. Unlike other games, this game does not count towards the regular-season standings, nor affect the regular-season performances of the players.

2024 NBA Cup championship game

Promotional material for the championship game
Event	2024 NBA Cup
Milwaukee Bucks Oklahoma City Thunder 97 81 Head coach: Doc Rivers Head coach: Mark Daigneault
1 2 3 4 Total Milwaukee Bucks 27 24 26 20 97 Oklahoma City Thunder 22 28 14 17 81
Date	December 17, 2024
Venue	T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada
MVP	Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)
Favorite	Thunder by 4.5 points
Referees	Josh Tiven Karl Lane Justin Van Duyne
Attendance	18,519
← 2023 2025 →

The Bucks won the championship game by defeating the Thunder 97–81. Giannis Antetokounmpo contributed a triple-double of 26 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists in the final, and was subsequently named the NBA Cup MVP.^[1]

Participants

Milwaukee Bucks

Main article: 2024–25 Milwaukee Bucks season

The Bucks advanced to the knockout round as the winners of East group B with a 4–0 group record. They defeated the Toronto Raptors, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, and Detroit Pistons.^[2] In the knockout round, they defeated the Orlando Magic in the quarterfinals and the Atlanta Hawks in the semifinals. Before heading into the championship game, the Bucks were the 5th-placed team in the Eastern Conference with a 14–11 record.

The Bucks played in their second straight NBA Cup semifinal, becoming the first team to feature in two final fours.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Main article: 2024–25 Oklahoma City Thunder season

The Thunder advanced to the knockout round as the winners of West group B with a 3–1 group record. In the group stage, they defeated the Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, and Los Angeles Lakers, and lost to the San Antonio Spurs.^[3] In the knockout round, they eliminated the Dallas Mavericks in the quarterfinals and the Houston Rockets in the semifinals. Before heading into the championship game, the Thunder were the 1st-placed team in the Western Conference with a 20–5 record in the regular season.

Road to the championship game

Main article: 2024 NBA Cup

Milwaukee Bucks (Eastern Conference)	Round		Oklahoma City Thunder (Western Conference)
East group B Pos Team v t e Pld W L PF PA PD Qualification 1 Milwaukee Bucks 4 4 0 462 412 +50 Advance to knockout stage 2 Detroit Pistons 4 3 1 447 440 +7 3 Miami Heat 4 2 2 459 439 +20 4 Toronto Raptors 4 1 3 413 430 −17 5 Indiana Pacers 4 0 4 445 505 −60 Source: NBA Rules for classification: Tiebreakers	Group stage		West group B Pos Team v t e Pld W L PF PA PD Qualification 1 Oklahoma City Thunder 4 3 1 437 392 +45 Advance to knockout stage 2 Phoenix Suns 4 3 1 434 404 +30 3 Los Angeles Lakers 4 2 2 437 461 −24 4 San Antonio Spurs 4 2 2 446 443 +3 5 Utah Jazz 4 0 4 451 505 −54 Source: NBA Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Defeated the Orlando Magic, 114–109	Quarterfinals		Defeated the Dallas Mavericks, 118–104
Defeated the Atlanta Hawks, 110–102	Semifinals		Defeated the Houston Rockets, 111–96

Game summary

The Bucks missed Khris Middleton due to illness, which was announced 90 minutes before tipoff.^[4] The Thunder struggled with shooting throughout the game, going 5-of-32 from long-range, setting season lows in both field goal and three-point percentage.^[5] The game was close at halftime, with the Bucks leading 51-50, but the Bucks pulled away in the third quarter, holding the Thunder to just 14 points in the period. The Bucks led by as many as 20 points, before closing out the game with a 16-point victory, 97 to 81. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks in points, rebounds, and assists, as he finished with a triple-double of 26 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists.^[6]

ABC

December 17 8:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m. Pacific)

Preview

Milwaukee Bucks 97, Oklahoma City Thunder 81
Scoring by quarter: 27–28, 24–22, 26–14, 20–17
Pts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 26 Rebs: Giannis Antetokounmpo 19 Asts: Giannis Antetokounmpo 10		Pts: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 21 Rebs: Isaiah Hartenstein 12 Asts: Jalen Williams 3

T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV Attendance: 18,519 Referees: Josh Tiven, Karl Lane, Justin Van Duyne

Starters: Pts Reb Ast G 0 Damian Lillard 23 4 4 G 44 Andre Jackson Jr. 2 3 1 F 12 Taurean Prince 6 2 2 F 34 Giannis Antetokounmpo 26 19 10 C 11 Brook Lopez 13 9 1 Reserves: F 9 Bobby Portis 5 9 3 G 20 A. J. Green 9 1 2 G 24 Pat Connaughton 0 0 1 G 5 Gary Trent Jr. 13 3 1 F 3 MarJon Beauchamp 0 0 0 G 77 AJ Johnson 0 1 0 F 7 Chris Livingston 0 1 0 F 21 Tyler Smith 0 0 0 G 13 Ryan Rollins DNP G 55 Delon Wright DNP Head coach: Doc Rivers

Milwaukee Oklahoma City 0 Milwaukee Statistics[7] Oklahoma City 34/81 (42.0%) Field goals 29/87 (33.7%) 17/40 (42.5%) 3-pt field goals 5/32 (15.6%) 12/18 (66.7%) Free throws 18/22 (81.8%) 9 Offensive rebounds 7 43 Defensive rebounds 36 52 Total rebounds 43 25 Assists 13 19 Turnovers 10 6 Steals 10 4 Blocks 5 20 Fouls 14 28 Points in the paint 34 9 Fast break points 11 20 Biggest lead 7 27 Bench points 15 11 Points off turnovers 12

Starters: Pts Reb Ast G 2 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 21 4 2 G 11 Isaiah Joe 7 3 1 F 5 Luguentz Dort 4 8 1 F 8 Jalen Williams 18 4 3 C 55 Isaiah Hartenstein 16 12 2 Reserves: G 22 Cason Wallace 5 1 1 G/F 34 Kenrich Williams 3 2 1 G 9 Alex Caruso 2 3 0 G/F 21 Aaron Wiggins 0 3 0 G 25 Ajay Mitchell 5 2 2 C 15 Branden Carlson 0 1 0 F 3 Dillon Jones 0 0 0 Head coach: Mark Daigneault

Aftermath

The Bucks won their first NBA Cup title, and Giannis Antetokounmpo was unanimously given the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for the tournament.^[8] Antetokounmpo followed LeBron James as the second winner of the award. Taurean Prince, who won the 2023 title with the Los Angeles Lakers, became the first player to win multiple NBA Cups.^[9] Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham won his second title as well, having won the title as head coach of the Lakers in the previous season.^[10] Each player on the Bucks roster received $514,971 in price money, while Thunder players received $205,988 each.^[6]

Rosters

Milwaukee Bucks

2024–25 Milwaukee Bucks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From F 34 Antetokounmpo, Giannis 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 243 lb (110 kg) 1994-12-06 Greece F 3 Beauchamp, MarJon 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 199 lb (90 kg) 2000-10-12 Yakima Valley G 24 Connaughton, Pat 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 1993-01-06 Notre Dame G 20 Green, A. J. 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-09-27 Northern Iowa G 44 Jackson, Andre Jr. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 2001-11-13 Connecticut G 77 Johnson, AJ 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 2004-12-01 Southern California Academy (CA) G 0 Lillard, Damian 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1990-07-15 Weber State F 7 Livingston, Chris 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 2003-10-15 Kentucky C 11 Lopez, Brook 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 282 lb (128 kg) 1988-04-01 Stanford F 22 Middleton, Khris 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 222 lb (101 kg) 1991-08-12 Texas A&M F 9 Portis, Bobby 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1995-02-10 Arkansas F 12 Prince, Taurean 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1994-03-22 Baylor C 15 Robbins, Liam (TW) 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1999-07-12 Vanderbilt G 13 Rollins, Ryan (TW) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-07-03 Toledo F 21 Smith, Tyler 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 224 lb (102 kg) 2004-11-02 George Bush HS (TX) G 5 Trent, Gary Jr. 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 204 lb (93 kg) 1999-01-18 Duke G 17 Umude, Stanley (TW) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1999-04-12 Arkansas G 55 Wright, Delon 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1992-04-26 Utah

Head coach Doc Rivers Assistant coach(es) Vin Baker Greg Buckner Pete Dominguez Darvin Ham Jack Herum Dave Joerger Rex Kalamian Jason Love Joe Prunty Spencer Rivers Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (GL) On assignment to G League affiliate (TW) Two-way affiliate player Injured Roster Last transaction: December 11, 2024

Oklahoma City Thunder

2024–25 Oklahoma City Thunder roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From C 15 Carlson, Branden 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1999-06-14 Utah G 9 Caruso, Alex 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 186 lb (84 kg) 1994-02-28 Texas A&M F 13 Dieng, Ousmane  6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2003-05-21 France G/F 5 Dort, Luguentz 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1999-04-19 Arizona State G/F 88 Ducas, Alex (TW) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 2000-12-11 Saint Mary's G 14 Flagler, Adam (TW) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-12-01 Baylor G 2 Gilgeous-Alexander, Shai 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1998-07-12 Kentucky C 55 Hartenstein, Isaiah 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1998-05-05 Germany F/C 7 Holmgren, Chet  7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 2002-05-01 Gonzaga G 11 Joe, Isaiah 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1999-07-02 Arkansas G/F 3 Jones, Dillon 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 2001-10-29 Weber State G 25 Mitchell, Ajay (TW) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-06-25 UC Santa Barbara G 44 Topić, Nikola  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2005-08-10 Serbia G 22 Wallace, Cason 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2003-11-07 Kentucky G 21 Wiggins, Aaron 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-01-02 Maryland G/F 8 Williams, Jalen 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 211 lb (96 kg) 2001-04-14 Santa Clara F/C 6 Williams, Jaylin  6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 2002-06-29 Arkansas G/F 34 Williams, Kenrich 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1994-12-02 TCU

Head coach Mark Daigneault Assistant coach(es) David Akinyooye Dave Bliss Chip Engelland Grant Gibbs Connor Johnson Eric Maynor Mike Wilks Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (GL) On assignment to G League affiliate (TW) Two-way affiliate player Injured Roster Last transaction: December 10, 2024

Media

This game was broadcast for the second and final year of its deal on ABC (including local stations WISN-TV in Milwaukee and KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City), before moving to Prime Video in 2025.^[11] The game was the second-most viewed of the season thus far with 2.99 million viewers.^[12]

This game was also streamed for the first time on ESPN+ as part of a modified rearrangement that saw the platform simulcasting more events from ABC since August 2024.

References

1. Aschburner, Steve (December 17, 2024). "Giannis Antetokounmpo adds to stellar resume with Emirates NBA Cup MVP". NBA.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
2. "Bucks advance in NBA Cup as Antetokounmpo and Lillard key 128-107 win over Pistons". ESPN.com. December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
3. "Thunder beat Jazz 133-106 and advance to the NBA Cup quarterfinals". ESPN.com. December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
4. "Illness forces Bucks' Middleton to miss Cup final". ESPN.com. December 18, 2024. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
5. "Thunder go cold, will 'learn' from NBA Cup loss". ESPN.com. December 18, 2024. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
6. "Milwaukee Bucks vs Oklahoma City Thunder Dec 17, 2024 Game Summary". www.nba.com. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
7. "Milwaukee Bucks vs Oklahoma City Thunder Dec 17, 2024 Game Summary". NBA.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
8. "Giannis Antetokounmpo adds to stellar resume with Emirates NBA Cup MVP". NBA.com. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
9. "Taurean Prince makes NBA history with back-to-back titles". MARCA. December 18, 2024. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
10. "Bucks Assistant Darvin Ham Won Second Straight NBA Cup And Fans Had Plenty of Jokes". SI. December 18, 2024. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
11. Rajan, Ronce (December 17, 2024). "ESPN NBA Full Court Press: ESPN Presents the Emirates NBA Cup 2024 Championship on Tuesday with a Matchup Between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Oklahoma City Thunder on ABC and ESPN+". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
12. Lewis, Jon (December 19, 2024). "Cup half empty or half full: Bucks-Thunder decent, but down big". sportsmediawatch.com. Retrieved December 19, 2024.