Introducing the revamped Emirates NBA Cup for its second season, the NBA is set to kick off its in-season tournament on Nov. 12, adding an extra layer of excitement to the early regular season games leading up to Christmas. The tournament will culminate in Las Vegas, with the semifinals taking place on Dec. 14 and the championship final on Dec. 17.
For the tournament, all 30 NBA teams will be divided into groups of five within their conference based on their regular-season records from the previous year. Each team will compete against the other four teams in its group.
Group stage matches will take place on Tuesdays and Fridays from November to early December, with “Cup Nights” scheduled for Nov. 12, 19, 26, Dec. 3, 15, 22, and 29.
The top eight teams from the group stage (winners of each group and a wild-card team from each conference) will advance to the single-elimination knockout rounds on Dec. 10-11, leading up to the semifinals and championship game at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The NBA Cup’s six groups were revealed on ESPN, with three groups each for the Western and Eastern Conferences.
Western Conference
West Group A
West Group B
West Group C
Eastern Conference
East Group A
East Group B
East Group C
The teams that do not qualify for the knockout rounds will play two additional regular-season games on Dec. 12-13 and Dec. 15-16. Losing teams from the quarterfinals will also compete in regular-season games during this period.
Last year’s champions, the Lakers, will look to defend their title after defeating the Pacers in the finals. LeBron James was named the tournament’s MVP, and the winning team split a prize pool with the runners-up, with each player on the winning team receiving $500,000.