The NBA Cup Final on Tuesday pits the Milwaukee Bucks against Oklahoma City Thunder as they play in Las Vegas (8:30 p.m. ET on ABC).
The Bucks are undefeated in Cup play, while the Thunder are 3-1. Oklahoma has found success outside of the tournament, too, boasting a 20-5 record -- good enough for first in the Western Conference. Milwaukee struggled to start the season, but has gone 8-2 in its last 10 games.
The Bucks have seemed to find their stride and may have an unconventional advantage at their disposal. Assistant coach Darvin Ham is 13-0 in NBA Cup games, dating back to his tenure as Los Angeles Lakers head coach last season.
Whoever comes out victorious will be crowned the winner of the second NBA Cup. Here's a look at key numbers for the NBA Cup Final.
Age is just a number
The Bucks and Thunder head into Tuesday on opposite ends of the age spectrum.
Measured by weighted by playing time -- which reflects the age of players actually on the floor, not just the roster -- Milwaukee is the oldest team in the NBA this season, with an average age of 30.21 years. The Thunder are the fourth youngest at 24.857, just behind the Utah Jazz (24.856), Portland Trail Blazers (24.63) and Washington Wizards (24.08).
That hasn't made a difference for either side. Each team's top scorer -- Giannis Antetokounmpo for Milwaukee and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for Oklahoma City -- is separated in age by just four years.
Stars in the midst of memorable runs
It's been a strong stretch for Antetokounmpo and Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Bucks star leads the NBA in points per game (32.7) while the Thunder star is fourth (30.3), both aided by consistent outputs and a similar shot chart. Antetokounmpo is first in paint points per game (21.5) while Gilgeous-Alexander is fourth (13.3) among qualified players -- even though the two have a five-inch height difference.
They enter Tuesday on 20-point streaks of 23 and 21 games. Antetokounmpo has scored at least 20 points in every game this season, including a whopping 59 on Nov. 13. Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 20 in all but one game.
It's just the sixth time in the past 40 seasons that opposing players will meet while on 20-point streaks of 20 games or longer at the time of their matchup. And both of their tallies are safe -- the NBA Cup Final does not count to a player or teams' statistics, therefore, it will also not count for or against any streaks
Players have made their mark
Damian Lillard has looked more like himself in his second season with the Bucks.
The guard has increased his points, rebounds, assists and field goal percentage. His 25.7 points per game are his second-highest since the 2020-21 season. It also makes him and Antetokounmpo one of two teammate duos each averaging 25 points per game -- Kevin Durant and Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns are the other. For the Thunder, Jalen Williams has developed nicely in his third NBA season. He's averaging career highs across the board in points (21.7), rebounds (6.1), assists (5.0) and steals (2.0) per game. Williams and Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic are the only two players currently averaging 20 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals per game.
However, Williams has been as effective -- if not more -- on the defensive side, making him a prime candidate to defend Lillard.
According to Second Spectrum, Williams ranks third among 175 plus players to defend at least 35 direct isolations this season, allowing just 0.625 points per direct isolation as the ball handler's defender.
Defense is the name of the game
Oklahoma City is on the cusp of an NBA Cup because of an elite defense.
The Thunder rank first in defensive efficiency (103.1), steals per game (12.2) and opposing points (103.4) and field goal percentage (42.4%) per game. They've also held their opponents to below 100 points in a league-high 11 games this season, going 11-0 in those instances.
Milwaukee's defense ranks in the middle of the pack for efficiency, but it is spearheaded by Antetokounmpo and center Brook Lopez.
Antetokounmpo is allowing 42.4% from the field as the closest defender per Second Spectrum, on track for his best finish in the stat since he won the Defensive Player of the Year in 2019-20. Lopez is allowing 44.9% from the field on shots in the paint, ranking fourth among 63 players to contest at least 150 field goal attempts in the paint this season, per Second Spectrum.
ESPN Research contributed to this report.