Milwaukee Bucks’ NBA Cup Victory Nets Bench Players a 50% Salary Boost Without Hitting the Court

The Milwaukee Bucks’ triumph in the NBA Cup on Tuesday turned out to be a significant payday for three players on their roster. While the NBA Cup, the league’s new midseason tournament, awards hundreds of thousands of dollars to each player on the winning team, this sum might seem modest compared to the league’s average salary of $11.9 million.

However, for a small group of lower-earning players, this bonus represents a transformative boost to their earnings. For three Bucks players in particular, the prize money translated into roughly a 50% salary increase.

Remarkably, none of these players even stepped onto the court during the championship game. Their windfall highlights how the NBA Cup can meaningfully impact the league’s lesser-paid athletes.