While the loss certainly wasn’t what the Thunder wanted to see, it gives the team a chance to reset in mid-December as it did a year ago. Last year, the Thunder’s loss in the cup final against the Milwaukee Bucks was a bit of a wakeup call for the team and clearly helped provide some motivation for the rest of the year.

The Emirates NBA Cup 2025 Semifinals generated a 126% year-over-year increase in social media views, with more than 400 million views across all platforms. The Emirates NBA Cup 2025 Semifinals saw a 126% year-over-year increase in social media views, with more than 400 million views across all platforms. (Source: Videocites)

The Thunder traveled back to OKC with some money in their pockets. They received $107K per player. For context, the NBA Cup winner sees each player get $531K. The runner-up will see $212K per player. And the quarterfinals losers get $54K per player.

The OKC Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs face off tonight in NBA Cup action — here's the channel, schedule, streaming and more.

Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs snapped the Oklahoma City Thunder's record 16-game win streak with a 111-109 win in the NBA Cup semifinals.

Chris Paul is in attendance at the NBA cup contest between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs, is this a sign?

But one thing that hasn't been lost among NBA players is the grand prize. The winner will see each player paid $530K. The runner-up will see each player paid $212K. The semifinal losers will see each player paid $106K.