Jalen Brunson has an altruistic view of NBA Cup prize money.
Josh Hart thinks about himself.
The contrast between the teammates, along with Hart's usual humor, played out in the two days leading up to the Knicks' 121-106 win on Tuesday to advance to the NBA Cup finals.
With three more wins, including next week's quarterfinal game against the Hawks, the Knicks will earn $515,000 per player.
“It would mean a lot [to win]. It would mean a lot to us to get it [to Las Vegas for the final] And do it all,” Branson said. “We have players on our team that are on one-year contracts, two-way contracts, things like that, and it means a lot to go out there and try to win for them.”
As Brunson alluded to, the prize money is flat across the roster and is disproportionately valuable to players who earn less.
For example, the first place prize equates to about a 50 percent bonus for Ariel Hukporti, but only 1 percent for Karl-Anthony Towns.
There will also be an increase of $206,000 for second-place finishers, $103,000 for semifinalists, and $51,500 for quarterfinalists.
Hart, who is making more than $18 million this season, has his eye on luxury goods.
“It's money I picked up, so I might buy a watch or something with it,” Hart said. “I wanted a new car. Now that I've found the money, I'm going to do something stupid with it.”
Former Knicks forward Isaiah Hartenstein has been playing well since coming back from a broken hand, and he made some interesting comments after the Thunder's recent game against the Rockets.
“Honestly, they have some players who play unselfishly,” Hartenstein said Sunday. “There are more players in the league who play for themselves.” [and] They're not playing for the team. [OKC stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams] Please don't. They're very team oriented and I think that's what makes us great.
“I think a lot of NBA stars tend to steal a lot of plays on defense,” the center added. “They don't. I feel like that makes them very selfish.”
Hartenstein didn't name the star players he was criticizing, but that should come as no surprise to his former teammates.
He spent the past two seasons in New York with Julius Randle and Brunson.
Before that, Hartenstein was in various places with Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and Nikola Jokic.
Hartenstein left the Knicks as a free agent for an $87 million salary, but missed the season with a broken hand.
He then played five straight games in OKC heading into Tuesday, averaging 15.2 points, 13.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and shooting 61.1 percent from the field.
The Thunder, the championship favorites, went 4-1 with him in the lineup.
His transition from the Knicks was smoother than that of Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, who needed two straight wins to get the Timberwolves back to .500 with a 10-10 record.
DiVincenzo is shooting just 35.8 percent.
According to Rover.com, dog names “Branson” increased by 161% in 2024.
