Mark Daigneault is a fan of polarizing NBA Cup tournament

Posted by Admin November 15, 2024 NBA

The Oklahoma City Thunder will kick off their 2024 NBA Cup slate on Friday against the Phoenix Suns. It’s the first of four group games for OKC. It hopes to advance past the West’s Group B stage.

It’s the second year of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s brainchild. Hoping to create interest in the early part of the nine-month season, the NBA Cup is supposed to incentivize early viewership. The league is divided into six groups of five squads.

The Thunder share a group with the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz. The six group winners and one wildcard berth from each conference will advance to an eight-team knockout tournament with the final four playing it out in Las Vegas.

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault is a fan of the ambitious project. In its debut last year, he noted a different atmosphere with an NBA Cup game than the average regular-season outing. The alternate court likely helps with that.

“I was really impressed last year with the intensity of those games. It is not playoff intensity but it is above like a casual regular season game,” Daigneault said. “I think the crowds and attention on it helps that. Those were pretty electric environments last year and we are hoping to get the same tomorrow which I am sure will be the case.”

The league has pushed the NBA Cup. The experiment will take time to be taken seriously by the average fan. But Silver is determined to see this through. Perhaps the up-and-coming Thunder’s advancement will drive interest.

“It was fun last year,” Daigneault said. “And a good opportunity to test ourselves in what feels like an elevated game in the regular season.”