NBA Cup prize money: How much will the winner win from this year's Final?

The NBA Cup group-play stage is wrapping up, and the knockout round is set to begin in early December. Players on the eight teams that advance to the single-elimination tournament will have more than pride on the line. There's a hefty cash prize for the winners as well.

Last year, players on teams that lost in the knockout round earned $51,497, players on teams that lost in the semifinals earned $102,994, players on the team that lost in the NBA Cup final earned $205,998, and players on the team that won the NBA Cup earned $514,971. This year, players are set to earn even more, according to Colin Salao of Front Office Sports.

Players on two-way contracts also stand to cash in. If they're on the active roster for each of their team's knockout-stage games, they earn half of the prize money that players on standard contracts do.

An extra $530,000 might not be a lot for a superstar on a max deal worth $50-plus million annually, but that's potentially life-changing money for players on two-way contracts, rookie-scale deals and veteran-minimum contracts. Two-way players are earning $636,435 at most this season, according to Eric Pincus of Sports Business Classroom, so a $265,000 payout for winning the Cup is more than 40 percent of their annual salary.

Which players could benefit the most from an NBA Cup payday?

The Toronto Raptors are the first team to have clinched their spot in the knockout round. Their five starters are all earning at least $19.5 million this year, but they have plenty of players earning $2.5 million or less, including Sandro Mamukelashvili, Jamal Shead and Jonathan Mogbo. Winning the Cup would be a major financial boon for all of them.

The Oklahoma City Thunder lost in the Cup final last year, much to Jaylin Williams' chagrin, but they're in prime position to make another run this year. J-Will already got a three-year, $24 million extension this past offseason, but breakout second-year player Ajay Mitchell, who signed a three-year, $8.7 million deal of his own over the summer, could stand to benefit from a Cup title. The same goes for Chris Youngblood, Branden Carlson and Brooks Barnhizer, all of whom are on two-way deals for OKC.

The Detroit Pistons are no lock to make the knockout round, as they have a big game looming Friday against the Orlando Magic, but they're currently riding a 13-game winning streak, which tied a franchise record. If they keep that train rolling, Marcus Sasser ($2.9 million), Javonte Green ($2.3 million), Bobi Klintman ($1.95 million), Isaac Jones ($1.995 million) and Chaz Lanier ($1.3 million) all certainly wouldn't mind a Cup title fattening their bank accounts.

That's the beautiful part of the NBA Cup. Even though superstars might not bat an eye at the prize money, they know how important it is for some of their less-well-compensated teammates. Giannis Antetokounmpo, who already has nearly $340 million in career earnings, was fired up for that exact reason after winning the Cup last year.

Afterward, Antetokounmpo told reporters that the money didn't matter to him, but he did understand it was "life-changing money" to people. He specifically mentioned Liam Robbins, who was on a two-way deal with the Bucks last year.

"We have this joke within the team about our two-way guy Liam,” Antetokounmpo said. "I promised him from the first Cup game, I said, 'We're going to go all the way and you’re going to get your house in Iowa.' So after every game I was like, 'One step closer to your house in Iowa!'

"After the game, we went to the locker room and I saw smiles on their face."

We'll find out soon enough which team is lucky enough to hoist the Cup and land the accompanying prize money.