The knockout rounds of the 2025 NBA Cup started on Tuesday, Dec. 9 when the Miami Heat faced the Orlando Magic in an East quarterfinal game.

Reaching Vegas already means a significant raise for some players. Each full-time player on a semifinal roster earns a $106,187 paycheck, which escalates with each subsequent round of the NBA Cup. The championship-winning players will earn $530,933, a nice payday for anyone playing on or near the league minimum $1.366 million salary.

Stephon Castle led the Spurs to a 132-119 win with 30 points and 10 rebounds as seven San Antonio players scored in double figures. Luka Dončić paced the Lakers with 35 points, and LeBron James had 19 points and 15 rebounds.

The early minutes of this game were competitive, but the Spurs went on a 19-6 run in the last 3:54 of the first quarter after the Lakers took a 24-20 lead. They held a 57-39 advantage with just under seven minutes left in the second period and extended it to 85-63 with 9:10 left in the third quarter,

Wembanyama looked good in some shooting and light work pregame on Wednesday and got a positive review from his coach.

The Oklahoma City Thunder thump the Phoenix Suns 138-89 in the NBA Cup quarter-finals to claim a 24th win in 25 games this season.

In 2012, Reid joined Hall of Famer Mitch Richmond as the second Cobras alum to play in an NBA game, logging five appearances with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Peterson, Dybantsa and Boozer remain the clear prizes of the draft -- but plenty others have risen after strong starts this season