Giannis Antetokounmpo was asked by TNT’s Jared Greenberg about playing roulette in Sin City with the cash award he’s won for making it this far in the tournament after the Milwaukee Bucks booked a trip to Las Vegas for the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament Final Four round on Tuesday night.
But Giannis was unaware that making it to the quarterfinals and semifinals earned participants a monetary reward.
“Are we getting money now?” Giannis inquired, smiling. “We got some money?” Antetokounmpo replied when Greenberg asked whether it surprised him, “The rich get richer.”
So, how much money will the participants earn during the in-season tournament?
Each team player that advanced to the quarterfinals got $50,000. Players receive an additional $100,000 if their team advances to the Final Four, like the Bucks accomplished on Tuesday night. So, in the instance of Greek Freak, he has already received $150,000 as a result of his Bucks reaching the semifinals.
The players on the teams that advance to the first-ever In-Season competition finals will each get $200,000 in prize money. Of course, everyone is looking forward to the $500,000 cash reward for the championship-winning team’s members.
Two-way players are paid half of what full-time players are paid. Head coaches are eligible for the same awards as full-time athletes, while assistant coaches are eligible for 75% of the head coach’s salary.
This implies that the championship-winning team’s players will receive $850,000 in monetary rewards. The sum may be little for the team’s stars, but for two-way players earning roughly $559,000 per year, winning the first-ever NBA Cup is a major thing. This was Dame’s point when he mentioned the importance of winning the In-Season competition.
The Bucks will face the Pacers next
The Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Phoenix Suns later that night on the path to the NBA Championship. The Lakers triumphed thanks to another strong showing by LeBron James. They will face the Pelicans at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday night. On Monday night, New Orleans upset the Sacramento Kings to progress to the NBA semifinals.
Meanwhile, Milwaukee’s quest for the NBA Championship continues on Thursday night when they meet the Indiana Pacers. When the Indiana Pacers upset the Boston Celtics last Monday night, they became the first team to win $100,000 for its players. Each Bucks player will receive an additional $200,000 from the league if the team defeats the Pacers.
Giannis is making $45.6 million this season, so whether he wins or loses, not much will change in Vegas for him, except perhaps his roulette allowance – after all, the rich grow wealthier, right? The game, however, will matter more to his lower-paid teammates. That is what will propel Giannis and Dame to victory in Sin City.