It’s been an eventful week for the Oklahoma City Thunder as they navigated a challenging schedule in the Knockout Rounds of the NBA Cup. Now set to face the Milwaukee Bucks in the championship game on Tuesday night, Oklahoma City had to defeat two of the Western Conference’s top teams to reach this point — the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets.

The NBA Cup has been a polarizing topic among NBA fans. On one hand, it offers a unique experience and provides games with added significance. On the other hand, teams that advance deeper into the tournament face a more challenging schedule and the potential of playing an additional game on top of their regular season slate. Coaches and players across the league have expressed mixed opinions about the concept of this in-season tournament, but it undeniably serves a purpose by injecting more excitement into the early part of the season.

But what’s really at stake in this NBA Cup Championship for the Thunder on Tuesday?

For starters, it’s important to note that the NBA Cup championship game does not count toward the regular season standings. It is essentially an 83rd game for both Oklahoma City and Milwaukee, with its outcome having no bearing on the standings or statistical records. In a broader sense, this game holds no direct implications for the rest of the season.

Even then, playing games of consequence remains critical in the NBA, particularly for a young team like the Thunder. Head coach Mark Daigneault understands the value of these high-pressure moments, as they provide invaluable experience for his developing roster. He’s mentioned many times in the past that every experience — good or bad — is a great opportunity to learn and get better. For a team with playoff ambitions and championship aspirations in the near future, a matchup like this, without a doubt, could provide longer-term benefits, especially situationally. While it may not count in the standings, the stakes are high, and the intensity will reflect that.

Additionally, there’s significant prize money on the line. Players on both the Thunder and the Bucks have already earned more than $200,000 each for advancing this far, but an additional $300,000 is at stake in the championship matchup. Teams that progressed beyond the Group Stage have seen the prize pool increase with each round, making this a financially rewarding process for the players involved.

• Quarterfinal Losers: $51,497 per player
• Semifinal Losers $102,994 per player
• Championship Losers: $205,988 per player
• Championship Winners: $514,970 per player

For younger players or those who aren’t on lucrative contracts, this is significant money — especially for those who make it as far as the Thunder and Bucks have.

When weighing the negative impacts of advancing this far in the NBA Cup, added challenges to the schedule is near the top of the list. Teams who were eliminated earlier in the Knockout Rounds enjoyed several days off between the end of their NBA Cup run and the resumption of regular-season play. Furthermore, some of the top teams around the league who didn’t advance past the Group Stage were rewarded with games against some of the bottom teams in the NBA. Meanwhile, the Thunder’s path resulted in playing three of the best teams in the league in the Knockout Rounds and then hitting the road for back-to-back games in Florida against the Orlando Magic on Thursday and the Miami Heat on Friday. This will be an extension of the road trip that has kept the team in Las Vegas over the past few days.

The added game and grueling schedule highlight a downside to success in the NBA Cup, with the compact schedule for championship teams likely being something the league will look to address in future iterations of the tournament. For now, it’s a challenge that Oklahoma City will need to embrace. Three games in four nights across multiple time zones is no small feat, but it represents another opportunity for growth and resilience. In the end, this experience could prove to be a defining test for the young Thunder squad and one that will likely make them stronger moving forward.

In short, advancing to this phase of the NBA Cup is a great opportunity for the Oklahoma City Thunder that will provide valuable experience and the potential for more prize money, even if it does result in an extra game that doesn’t count towards standings and makes the schedule more compact and challenging the remainder of the week.