Trae Young’s teammate accepts $500,000 and has motivated teams to fight hard for the NBA Cup

The 2024-2025 NBA campaign marks the second season of the league’s implementation of the NBA Cup (formerly known as the In-Season Tournament). There were many question marks during the tournament experiment last season, but there was an improved level of play between the teams. There has been a greater understanding of the tournament’s functionality, which has helped players from across the league become familiar. Hawks forward Jalen Johnson reveals the $500,000 financial incentive certainly plays a role in player motivation.

Johnson joined FanDuel TV’s Feed it back to discuss his thoughts on the NBA Cup. The 1.80 meter tall attacker did not disguise the fact that the cash prize motivated his colleagues and himself. The proof is in the product. He said,

“It’s a lot more motivation throughout the competition. Last year was a test run of sorts. Everyone understands the importance. Everyone wants to go to Vegas and play for that $500,000.”

The $500,000 cash prize may not seem like much for All-NBA players who make millions of dollars. However, the money pays off big time for players with smaller-scale contracts. Last season, many stars fought hard to earn their teammates a bigger payday.

Johnson made it clear that there was some confusion in the first season of the NBA Cup. But now that everyone has seen it happen, there is a better understanding of the tournament. The NBA Cup is separate from the playoffs, but teams across the league witnessed the impact it can have on a team trying to compete.

Last season, the Pacers unexpectedly made a deep run in the tournament and captured a berth in the NBA Cup Finals against the Lakers. They weren’t able to win, but they took the success of the tournament and expanded on it. They traded for Pascal Siakam and eventually headed to the Eastern Conference Finals in the postseason.

Teams will take this into account for the second season of the tournament. Johnson and the Hawks have already shown the basketball world that they are motivated to go far in the NBA Cup. They currently have a 2-1 record in the group stage, including an improbable victory over the Celtics without Trae Young.

Hawks’ success in the NBA Cup so far

As far as teams competing for a championship go, the Hawks are a long way from that conversation. However, their ability to compete from game to game has made them a formidable foe in the NBA Cup.

They are in East Group C, along with the Celtics, the Cavaliers, the Bulls and the Wizards. They followed their win over the Celtics with a win against the Wizards and a loss to the Bulls. The only team the Hawks still have to compete against is the NBA’s best, Cleveland Cavaliers.

The two teams will face off in a highly anticipated NBA Cup game on Friday at 2:30 PM ET. If the Hawks manage to pull out the win, they will be the outright winners of Group C. Although they have a 7-11 record this season, commissioner Adam Silver projected teams would make ‘Cinderella’ runs in the NBA Cup similar with NCAA’s March Madness.