Each year, the NBA Cup brings with it some very polarizing court designs across the league. Some teams go for the more subtle route, like the Lakers, while some teams are far more audacious, like the Wolves.
All of them, though, look like they’re straight out of NBA 2K, for better and more often for worse.
On Tuesday, the Lakers debuted their court in their first NBA Cup home game against the Clippers, but the discussion postgame was not about the design. Instead, it was about the safety of the court as players spent the game slipping a falling on the court.
While LA is slated for another NBA Cup home game on Friday, it will not take place on the NBA Cup court, according to multiple reports.
One of the most vocal critics of the court was Luka Dončić, who brought up the issue, unprompted, postgame.
Other players were asked about the court after Luka’s comments and they generally agreed. It’s an uncommon complaint to have and one that the Lakers clearly looked into, leading to the change on Friday.
That game wouldn’t come until mid-December, though, which gives them some time to fix the court. I’m not exactly sure what happens to make a court slippery when designing it and what steps must happen to make it not slippery after that, but it’s clear there was a problem after Tuesday’s game that is being addressed.