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Jalen Brunson is taking an altruistic view of the NBA Cup prize.
Josh Hart is thinking about himself.
The contrast in teammates, presented with the usual humor from Hart, was played out in the two days leading up to the Knicks’ 121-106 victory Tuesday to advance to the NBA Cup knockout round.
With three more wins — including next week’s quarterfinals against the Hawks — the Knicks get the $515,000 prize per player.
“It would mean a lot [to win]. It would mean a lot for us to get [to Las Vegas for the final] and do all that,” Brunson said. “You have guys on the team who may be on one-year contracts or two-way deals or whatever. And you get to go out there and try to win for them and it means a lot.”
As Brunson alluded, the prize money is flat across the roster and is disproportionately valuable to players earning less.
For instance, the first-place money represents a roughly 50 percent bonus for Ariel Hukporti and just 1 percent for Karl-Anthony Towns.
There’s also a $206,000 bump for second-place finishers, $103,000 for semifinalists and $51,500 for quarterfinalists.
Hart, who is earning over $18 million this season, has his eyes on luxury items.
“That’s found money, so I might buy a watch or something with it,” Hart said. “I’ve been wanting a new car. That’s found money so I’ll do something foolish with it.”
Former Knick Isaiah Hartenstein has returned from his fractured hand, is playing well and had some interesting comments following his Thunder’s recent game against the Rockets.
“Some guys, I’ll be honest, they play selfishly,” Hartenstein said Sunday. “There are some guys in the league who just kind of play more for themselves [and] they don’t play for the team. [OKC stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams] don’t. They’re very team-focused and I think that’s what makes us great.
“I think a lot of NBA stars, they kind of take a lot of plays off defensively,” the center added. “They don’t and I feel like that’s what makes them very unselfish.”
Hartenstein didn’t name any of the stars he was critiquing but it’s a natural leap to his former teammates.
He played the last two seasons with Julius Randle and Brunson in New York.
Before that, Hartenstein was with Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and Nikola Jokic at various stops.
Hartenstein, who left the Knicks in free agency for an $87 million payday, was shelved to start the campaign with a broken hand.
He then played five straight for OKC heading into Tuesday, averaging an impressive 15.2 points, 13.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists while shooting 61.1 percent.
The Thunder, a championship contender, were 4-1 with him in the lineup.
It’s been a smoother transition from the Knicks than for Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, who needed a two-game win streak to get the Timberwolves back to .500 at 10-10.
DiVincenzo is shooting just 35.8 percent.
The name “Brunson” went up 161 percent for dogs in 2024, according to Rover.com.
