Full NBA Cup Schedule: Group play, opening matchups and more
By Ian Levy
After a successful launch in the 2023-24 season, the NBA is bringing back its NBA In-Season Tournament, rechristened as the Emirates NBA Cup. This tournament includes all 30 teams, stretched over a month and embedded into the regular season schedule, adding considerable juice to every matchup.
The full schedule has been released, along with group assignments and we can already get a sense of who might have the inside track on keeping the Lakers from repeating as champions.
Emirates NBA Cup Groups
West Group A | West Group B | West Group C | East Group A | East Group B | East Group C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Timberwolves | Thunder | Nuggets | Knicks | Bucks | Celtics |
Clippers | Suns | Mavericks | Magic | Pacers | Cavaliers |
Kings | Lakers | Pelicans | 76ers | Heat | Bulls |
Rockets | Jazz | Warriors | Nets | Raptors | Hawks |
Trail Blazers | Spurs | Grizzlies | Hornets | Pistons | Wizards |
Each group has its juggernauts but Group C in the Western Conference looks like it could be the toughest — featuring the last three teams to represent the West in the Finals, including two champions in the Nuggets and Warriors, along with the rising Pelicans and the Grizzlies who should be much improved with Ja Morant healthy and available.
Another interesting quirk of the group draw is the Bucks and Pacers ending up together. The Pacers advanced to the Finals of the tournament last season by beating the Bucks. Because they faced off in the knockout round of the tournament, it meant that the Pacers and Bucks played each other five times last season all before Jan. 1, helping fuel a budding and heated rivalry that continued when they met in the first round of the playoffs.
The top team from each group advances to the knockout round, along with the team in each conference with the next best record from group play. Those eight teams are seeded into brackets by conference with the winner from each facing off in the finals.
Each team will play the four other teams in their group once, split with two home games and two road games. Those games are spaced on several dates throughout the first half of the season.
Emirates NBA Cup Schedule
ROUND | DATE |
|---|---|
Group Play | Tuesday, Nov. 12 |
Group Play | Friday, Nov. 15 |
Group Play | Tuesday, Nov. 19 |
Group Play | Friday, Nov. 22 |
Group Play | Tuesday, Nov. 26 |
Group Play | Friday, Nov. 29 |
Group Play | Tuesday, Dec. 3 |
Quarterfinals | Tuesday, Dec. 10 |
Quarterfinals | Wednesday, Dec. 11 |
Semifinals | Saturday, Dec. 14 |
Finals | Tuesday, Dec. 17 |
The NBA has planned some serious matchups for the Emirate NBA Cup Opening Night, including a doubleheader with championship implications on TNT.
Emirate NBA Cup Opening Night Schedule
AWAY | HOME | GROUP | TIME (ET) | CHANNEL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Hawks | Celtics | East C | 7:00 p.m. | League Pass |
Heat | Pistons | East B | 7:00 p.m. | League Pass |
Hornets | Magic | East A | 7:00 p.m. | League Pass |
Knicks | 76ers | East A | 7:00 p.m. | TNT |
Raptors | Bucks | East B | 8:00 p.m. | League Pass |
Suns | Jazz | West B | 9:00 p.m. | League Pass |
Mavericks | Warriors | West C | 10:00 p.m. | TNT |
Timberwolves | Trail Blazers | West A | 10:00 p.m. | League Pass |
That Mavericks–Warriors matchup that finishes caps the national doubleheader on TNT will also have the added juice of being Klay Thompson's first game against the Warriors in a Mavericks uniform, in San Francisco, no less.
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