LAS VEGAS — It was a “champagne room” in name alone.

Yes, there was actual bubbly inside that mostly empty T-Mobile Arena room where the NBA Cup celebration was supposed to occur. But the small box of Moet & Chandon was left untouched after the Milwaukee Bucks’ utter domination of Oklahoma City in the finale (97-81), as were the ice chests full of Michelob Ultra that looked so lonely amid the dry and spotless scene.

Raucous scene in the Milwaukee Bucks’ NBa Cup champagne celebration room pic.twitter.com/iFFDvOUhZE

— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) December 18, 2024

A staff member highlighted “superstition” as the Bucks’ reason for not celebrating as if this game took place in mid-June, with coach Doc Rivers cited as the one who made the decision. But it wasn’t quite that simple.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, who elevated his MVP candidacy by finishing with a monstrous triple-double (26 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists) and winning the Cup MVP honor along the way, said he hasn’t had alcohol since winning the title in 2021. But in terms of the team-wide calculus, and this observational study of how NBA players reacted to the extra $514,971 coming their way, this went deeper than that too.

It seems quite clear that this was about learning from the (In-Season Tournament) past and making sure the momentum continues from here. For both the Bucks and the Thunder, there was internal discussion about the lessons learned by the Lakers and Pacers a year ago and the measures that might need to be taken to avoid such a fate. As Rivers told longtime NBA reporter Chris Haynes, he wanted his team to focus on the rest of the season. That feeling was mutual on both sides because of what happened last year.

The Lakers, who were coached by Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham at the time, lost 10 of 13 after winning the IST and eventually found themselves fighting for their playoff lives by way of the Play-In tournament. A loss to Denver ensued in the first round.

“Oh, we definitely celebrated with champagne last year,” said Bucks small forward Taurean Prince, who was on that Lakers team with Ham.

The Pacers, meanwhile, lost six of eight games after falling in the finale. And while they would then go on to win nine of 10 games and reach the Eastern Conference finals, that didn’t change the chatter — or the level of concern — among both teams that preceded the Bucks-Thunder affair. By the time the logistics of the game needed to be planned, these sorts of ideas inspired the muted response from the victor.

And with good reason.

Ask anyone with the Lakers right now how much pride they take in their IST title, and you’ll get a collective shrug. It was fun for LeBron James and company at the moment, and easy to speculate about whether it was a sign of things to come. But ultimately, it didn’t matter.

So while this midseason exercise has certainly spiced up the early part of the schedule, there are still a few kinks that come with it that teams are trying to manage. Surviving until the finale means spending a week in Sin City, which changes the rhythm and flow of the routine and creates all sorts of unwanted downtime. It’s nuanced stuff, the kind that will likely spark eye rolls among some fans, but it’s a different enough experience that teams spend real time analyzing the potential impact on the crucial months to come.

For the Bucks, that means being mentally and physically ready for an Eastern Conference showdown at Cleveland on Friday. From there, they host Washington on Saturday and play at Chicago on Monday before getting two days off. They’ve won 13 of their last 16 games in all — even if the Cup championship doesn’t count — but need to keep pushing to prove that this return to elite status is real.

For the Thunder, who were strangely flat against the Bucks after winning nine of their previous 10 games, that means staying steady during this trip that is about to be extended. They head from Vegas to a Thursday game at Orlando, then play at Miami on Friday before heading home (for a Monday game against Washington).

The sample size here is certainly small, so maybe the Year 1 phenomenon was an outlier. Time will tell. But in this analytics age of overanalysis, where teams are looking for a competitive edge at every turn, it’s fair to wonder if getting too excited about the NBA Cup has an adverse effect on what comes next.

Even if Bucks big man Bobby Portis didn’t agree.

“We’re not Hollywood,” he told The Athletic when asked about the Lakers comparison. “We have hard-working guys (who are) selfless and who give themselves up for the betterment of the team. It’s not about the points you score. It’s all about winning, being connected. Our group is different from their group. We’re just different in that regard of selfless guys that give themselves up. You can’t really compare the two teams — not at all.

“The NBA puts a big tournament in front of you, and you go win that motherf—–. It’s as simple as that. They put something in front of you. You set a goal. You chop wood every day. Carry water. And eventually, you get here and you get a medal around your neck. … And then you get back to work on Thursday, which is what we signed up for. It’s part of the gig.”

(Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)