The NBA Cup will continue to grow in the future, and will likely move away from Las Vegas, to reach other markets. Early audience ratins reveal that the invention is having the desired effect: more people are tuning in to watch NBA in December, which is a month where ratings usually slow down as people focus on the NFL, which is in its final stages of the regular season.
Semifinals on Saturday, broadcast in a variety of worldwide markets on Amazon Prime Video, averaged 1.67 million viewers, a 14% increase over last season's semifinals. And the final on Tuesday night (early Wednesday in European time) generated a 126% year-over-year increase in social media views, with more than 400 million views across all platforms, according to Videocites. New York Knicks went on to win San Antonio Spurs 124-113.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver spoke before the final and said that they are looking at other potential venues for the final, which will remain a single-match final. Next season, semifinals will be played at the home site of the better seeded team.
Seattle and Las Vegas could have NBA teams in the future
Intriguingly, Silver also spoke about the expansion of the NBA, 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 the Seattle SuperSonics, between 1967 and 2008, before they relocated to Oklahoma.
"I don't have any doubt that Las Vegas, despite all of the other major league teams that are here now, the other entertainment properties, that this city could support an NBA team. I think now we're in the process of working with our teams and gauging the level of interest and having a better understanding of what the economics would be on the ground for those particular teams and what a pro forma would look like for them, and then sometime in 2026 we'll make a determination."
In the press conference, the NBA Commissioner also spoke about the future NBA Europe league, and said that they expect to have news in January 2026, after they have meetings regarding the matches in London and Berlin for Orlando and Memphis.