The Los Angeles Lakers will host the San Antonio Spurs in Crypto.com Arena for a high stakes quarterfinals in the NBA Cup. But the shiny NBA Cup court that’s been a staple for the last two tournaments will only be a sentiment. Because the real deal was proven unsafe. Thanks to Luka Doncic for advocating for player safety, the NBA has taken this issue seriously.

The Lakers and Spurs will play on the standard court the players are familiar with and used to in the NBA Cup quarterfinals. Sources confirmed that players, not excluding Doncic, had issues “with the slippery surface of the alternate bright yellow Cup court during the group stage.”

The Lakers went undefeated on that court but there were slips and injuries. Prompting concerns, the NBA decided to not have a different visual for the NBA Cup court “out of an abundance of caution.”

Irrespective of this decision, it’s not going to look like a regular game. The NBA Cup’s six-figure cash prize makes it a whole other atmosphere.

The league has been accessorizing the NBA Cup game with a literal cup for the past two seasons. The Dallas Mavericks with Luka Doncic didn’t make it very far in the inseason tournament before. Doncic was traded to the Lakers after last year’s tournament and he’s made them undefeated in NBA Cup play.

This year too the league issued alternate courts to all 30 teams for promotional displays. It’s the second straight game that the Lakers are going with a regular design instead. All because of the newest star of the midseason competition.

Luka Doncic makes NBA conscious of player safety

The Lakers are strongly favored to either be a threat to OKC or become the only team to win the NBA Cup a second time since its inception. Their emergence as real contenders is credited to Luka Doncic’s high scoring ways and Austin Reaves’ breakout season. So when the new face of the Lakers spoke, the NBA listened.

In November, they had their deciding win in the group stage by beating the Clippers 135-118. Doncic had 43 that game despite a few skids on the floor. He wasn’t the only player looking like penguins on ice.

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After the game, Doncic had a blunt review of the NBA Cup court. “I slipped a lot of times and you could see a lot of players slipped and that’s dangerous, man.” Rui Hachimura also backed him which spurred the NBA to take action.

Technicians from the NBA’s court vendor deemed the NBA Cup court design unplayable. “Player safety is our top priority,” a league spokesperson said immediately after that game. “In consultation with the Lakers, we identified areas of their NBA Cup court that required additional refinishing, so the team will use its standard home court for tonight’s game. The NBA Cup court is being reconditioned and will be ready for use in the quarterfinals should they host.”

The Lakers hosted Doncic’s old team, the Dallas Mavericks, with a returning healthier Anthony Davis on a regular court. That was their fourth straight win in group play and decided that the Lakers earned home court advantage for the Knockout Rounds.

The court was supposed to be repaired before they hosted the Spurs. But that’s clearly not happening.

The Lakers aren’t the only ones. The Orlando Magic also decided to forego the NBA Cup Court for their regular one against the Miami Heat.

The semifinals are in Las Vegas. The design of the court then is not confirmed yet.