Historic college venues? An international city? Here are some ideas for where the NBA Cup final could go next.

Hall of Famer Charles Barkley dismissed the NBA's in-season tournament, calling it “embarrassing" and questioning why players need extra pay to compete.

But Charles Barkley believes the concept of the Cup itself is “embarrassing.” “I think the cup thing is somewhat embarrassing,” Barkley told media personality Tom Tolbert on his YouTube show (via Awful Announcing). “I’m disappointed that we have to make an in-season tournament to make these guys more money so they won’t do load management.”

For those of you who wondered why Victor Wembanyama was tearful after the San Antonio Spurs lost to the New York Knicks in the 2025 NBA Cup final, it wasn't about basketball for him. "I'm sorry, I lost somebody today," Wembanyama said to reporters before taking one more question and heading out.

Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs showed the entire NBA that they can hang with anyone, and aren't going away anytime soon.

Multiple human rights organizations are petitioning the National Basketball Association (NBA) to drop Dubai’s government-owned Emirates airline as a sponsor of the league’s in-season tournament, the Emirates NBA Cup,

The Houston Rockets face the Denver Nuggets in a regular season NBA game on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025 at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo.