this new york knicks They haven’t won an NBA championship since the early 1970s. It’s also been more than a quarter-century since the team won the Eastern Conference title and advanced to the NBA Finals.

The Knicks take the court in Las Vegas on Tuesday night for the NBA championship. The Knicks met san antonio spurs The third NBA Cup, the league’s renamed in-season tournament, takes place in Las Vegas.

While some players and coaches have applauded the emerging concept, Basketball Hall of Famer and NBA analyst Charles Barkley remains unconvinced.

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College basketball analyst Charles Barkley is on the air ahead of the Final Four of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

“I think the cup thing is a bit awkward,” Barkley said in a guest appearance. “The Tom Tolbert Show” When discussing the NBA Cup. Barkley also expressed concern about the series’ reliance on bonuses as a means of forcing players to prioritize the regular season.

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“I’m disappointed that we have to have an in-season game to allow these guys to make more money so they’re not doing load management.” The NBA has implemented rules to try to prevent teams from sitting out otherwise healthy players because Load management.

Now, a player must play in at least 65 games to be eligible for a coveted individual award such as NBA MVP.

A view of the court before the Emirates NBA Cup championship game between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks at T-Mobile Arena on December 16, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Steve Marcus/Getty Images)

“But these guys have to be paid extra money to play in other games — they should play basketball because they get paid well to play basketball,” Barkley continued. “Having an in-season game just so they can make extra money, come on, man. That’s kind of ridiculous.”

According to most people, NBA Cup The rule was implemented to enhance the excitement of the league’s 82 regular season games. Commissioner Adam Silver used similar in-season tournaments in Europe as a model for the NBA version.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks during a press conference for the Emirates NBA Cup Finals at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 16, 2025. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

Despite declining TV ratings from the event’s first year to its second in 2024, shrinking ticket demand and criticism from Barkley and other commentators, the NBA league office appears to remain committed to the experiment.

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The Knicks defeated the Spurs 124-113 in the NBA Cup championship game on Tuesday.

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