On Saturday, Dec. 14, ahead of the NBA Cup Semifinals matchups at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, celebrities, athletes and NBA legends walked the red carpet ahead of The Milwaukee Bucks defeating The Atlanta Hawks in the East semifinal game and The Oklahoma City Thunder defeating The Houston Rockets in the West semifinal game.
The red carpet at T-Mobile Arena included rappers 2 Chainz and B.G., NBA legends Blake Griffin, Chandler Parsons, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal, Joakim Noah, Deron Williams, Rip Hamilton, Gary Payton and Oscar Robertson, NFL stars including Puca Nakua and Jakorian Bennett and Las Vegas football’s John Jenkins and Christian Wilkins.
The Bucks and The Thunder faced off in the Emirates NBA Cup championship game Tuesday, Dec. 17, on ABC, with The Bucks winning 97-81 and Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo being named Emirates NBA Cup MVP.
The NBA is no stranger to Las Vegas since the NBA Summer League has been in town for 20 years. “We love Las Vegas, and we know how ideal it is to have the Emirates Cup there since it’s such a great sports town,” NBA Executive VP of Global Events Kelly Flatlow said. “Las Vegas is a terrific destination for NBA fans.”
The athletes played for the cup and a nice bonus. The winners of the NBA Cup received $500,000 each. The runner-up team left town with $200,000 each. “This is a great tournament for the players and the fans,” Flatlow said. “Las Vegas has been great for the NBA Emirates Cup.”
“Las Vegas is a world class destination,” Flatlow said. “All 30 of the NBA teams see that. Las Vegas has been great for our Summer League. It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the future with the NBA and Las Vegas.”
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