{"id":77676,"date":"2025-12-22T08:10:22","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T08:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/77676\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T08:10:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T08:10:22","slug":"do-people-buy-nba-cup-champions-gear-an-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/77676\/","title":{"rendered":"Do people buy NBA Cup champions gear? An investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"

After the New York Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, the scene looked a lot like other title celebrations, complete with championship merchandise for the players to wear. But this was the NBA Cup, a tournament in its third year of existence and still lacking prestige to the point where the Knicks don\u2019t even want to hang a banner<\/a> for their win.<\/p>\n

All of this raises the question: Do fans buy NBA Cup championship gear?<\/p>\n

And a natural follow-up: Have you ever seen someone wear NBA Cup champions gear?<\/p>\n

To answer those questions, let\u2019s take a look at what\u2019s available.<\/p>\n

cop your merch knicks fam \ud83d\udc47\ud83d\ude0f<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udecd\ufe0f https:\/\/t.co\/4hfibmjDJc<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/8s6n3NBT9P<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) December 17, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

The two most obvious items are what the Knicks players wore in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

New Era produced the NBA Cup headgear \u2014 a snapback, since a one-size-fits-all approach works best when handing out champions caps. No one has time to ask Karl-Anthony Towns if he\u2019s a size 7 7\/8 or an 8. But even for those who prefer fitted caps, there\u2019s some swag with this snapback. Priced at $40, the front of the crown is white and says \u201c2025 Emirates NBA Cup\u201d with \u201cCHAMPIONS\u201d in big stitch lettering next to a very well-designed stitch of the NBA Cup. The strong blue and red lines outlining the word \u201cchampions\u201d are made to look like a tournament bracket and are a nice accenting touch. The middle and back two-thirds of the cap are black (as is the cap\u2019s visor) and feature a Knicks logo on the right side and the New Era flag on the left. These hats are billed as \u201calmost gone\u201d on the Knicks team shop and \u201csold out\u201d<\/a> on the New Era site, where it says they\u2019re expected to ship on Christmas Eve.<\/p>\n

So do people buy NBA Cup champions hats? The answer appears to be yes.<\/p>\n

The other piece worn by the players was the black champions T-shirt. It has a lot going on in terms of design elements, but it surprisingly works. The biggest surprise is that the shirt has a Jordan Brand logo on it. How much longer must Michael Jordan haunt the Knicks? A shirt commemorating a Knicks title that isn\u2019t an NBA championship with a Jordan Brand logo feels like that famous MJ meme with the word \u201ckids\u201d in it, but just replace \u201ckids\u201d with \u201cKnicks.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Jordan logo, alongside the NBA Cup logo and \u201cchampions\u201d all being colored in gold works well against the black shirt. Of course, there is a Knicks logo, but what stands out most on this shirt is the red and blue circular bracket design with an NBA Cup inside of it. Again, it\u2019s a lot, but it looks good.<\/p>\n

This shirt sold out on the Knicks online shop in adult sizes and is listed as \u201calmost gone\u201d in youth sizes<\/a> (only a small is still available as of writing), so people appear to be buying it, as well.<\/p>\n

Still available is the Knicks NBA Cup champions T-shirt in the team\u2019s blue and orange colors,<\/a> priced at $35. The emphasis on the NBA Cup logo is more subtle on this shirt, as it appears underneath the more heavily emphasized \u201cNBA Cup Champion New York Knicks.\u201d Championship gear in Knicks colors, of any kind, is exceedingly rare, but this isn\u2019t the shirt the players wore on the court after winning, so that likely explains why there are still plenty of these available (except in small).<\/p>\n

The team shop is also selling a framed 13 x 16 collage featuring a photo of the Knicks holding up the NBA Cup as confetti falls over them for $50. Within that framed picture is something else the NBA should consider making available for fans: How about some replica NBA Cup medals?<\/p>\n

\"NBA<\/p>\n

\n The Knicks won\u2019t hang a banner, but fans can hang this. (New York Knicks Team Shop)<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, if you\u2019re just really into the NBA Cup and don\u2019t care who wins, there is also a T-shirt available that just has the tournament\u2019s logo on it for $35<\/a>. Perfect if Rob Lowe ever decides to get floor seats at the next NBA Cup. The product listing says it\u2019s from 2024, but it remains available in all sizes.<\/p>\n

What about merchandise from previous years? If the NBA Cup offerings on eBay are any indication, Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks fans treasure their champions merch too much resell, so Knicks fans may want to stock up while they still can. From the Bucks\u2019 NBA Cup victory<\/a> last season, there are a few bobbleheads available, T-shirts, Panini Instant trading cards and lapel pins. And if you search for \u201cNBA Cup Lakers,<\/a>\u201d you\u2019ll mostly get \u2026 Lakers cups. Of course, in 2023, the competition was still creatively branded the \u201cIn-Season Tournament,\u201d so searching with that<\/a> produces a still limited number of relevant results, including T-shirts, LeBron James bobbleheads and a Max Christie autographed basketball<\/a> inscribed \u201c2023 NBA Cup Champions.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the offerings remain nowhere near what\u2019s made available for league champions, we have significant evidence that people do, in fact, buy NBA Cup champions gear. Whether they wear it in public is another question, though. Have your say in our poll below.<\/p>\n

Loading\u2026 <\/p>\n

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