The NBA Cup will continue to grow in the future and will likely move away from Las Vegas to reach other markets. Early viewership rates show the invention is having the desired effect: More people tune in to NBA in December, a month when ratings tend to drop due to the focus on the NFL, which is in the final stages of the regular season.
Saturday’s semifinals, which aired in various global markets on Amazon Prime Video, averaged 1.67 million viewers, a 14% increase over last season’s semifinals. And the finale on Tuesday night (early Wednesday European time) achieved a 126% increase in social media views year-on-year, with more than 400 million views across all platforms, according to Videocites. The New York Knicks then beat the San Antonio Spurs 124-113.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke before the finals and said,that they are looking for other possible venues for the finalwhich will remain a single-game final. Next season the semi-finals will be played at the home of the better seeded team.
Seattle and Las Vegas could have NBA teams in the future
Interestingly, Silver also talked about the NBA’s expansion with potential new teams from Las Vegas and Seattle. “I think Seattle and Las Vegas are two incredible cities. Obviously we had a team in Seattle that had great success. We have a WNBA team here in Las Vegas in the Aces” Silver said. The Oklahoma City Thunder, current NBA champions, were formerly called the Seattle SuperSonics between 1967 and 2008 before moving to Oklahoma.
“I have no doubt that Las Vegas, despite all the other major league teams that are here now, the other entertainment venues, that this city could support an NBA team. I think we’re working with our teams now, appreciating the interest and having a better understanding of what the economics look like for those teams and what a pro forma would look like for them, and then we’ll make a decision sometime in 2026.“
In the press conference, the NBA commissioner also spoke about the future NBA Europe League and said that they expect news in January 2026 after holding meetings for the games in London and Berlin for Orlando and Memphis.
