No matter your thoughts, though, 30 NBA teams have a chance to win it. Only one did: the New York Knicks.

The NBA rolls on after Christmas with a packed Friday slate. December 26 features several key Eastern and Western Conference matchups. Some teams are pushing for playoff position, while others are focused on development and momentum.

Looking back at the Emirates NBA Cup winner, the game MVP and All-NBA Cup teams from each season. New York's depth delivers big, Karl-Anthony Towns returns for the moment and the Knicks hope to flip the Cup script.

In other words, how did past champions of the NBA Cup—the Lakers in 2023-24, the Bucks in 2024-25—perform the rest of the way in the regular season and in the postseason, if they advanced that far? Let's take a deep dive.

The NBA Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder suffered just their third defeat of the season Friday, in a last-minute 112-107 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.Oklahoma City had been on a 16-game winning streak that prompted talk of them breaking Golden State's record 73-win season.

A championship bonus of $530,933 for winning the Cup represents over 40% of the annual salary for a player on a league minimum deal (approximately $1.27 million in the 2025-26 season). This is truly life-changing money that can be used to pay off debts, make major purchases, or provide a substantial financial cushion.

After a big loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, the Houston Rockets rebounded to end road trip with win over Lakers.

The Christmas Day slate is always one of the best ones of the NBA calendar and the Los Angeles Lakers are a staple on the holiday given their popularity globally.