The matchup for the 2024 NBA Cup Final is set. The Milwaukee Bucks will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in Las Vegas for the opportunity to be crowned the second-ever champions of the NBA's in-season tournament.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — It was midway through the third quarter of the Oklahoma City-Houston NBA Cup semifinal matchup on Saturday night. Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had just made a short jumper in the lane and, to his delight, a time-out was immediately called. He needed it.

There's an unspoken rule of ascension in the NBA that dictates any new team hoping to rise up the league's hierarchy needs to start that process by defeating the team that had previously beaten them.