Full NBA Cup Schedule: Every Game of the NBA's In-Season Tournament
![Dec 9, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) hoists the NBA Cup and celebrates with teammates after winning the NBA In-Season Tournament Championship game against the Indiana Pacers at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports Dec 9, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) hoists the NBA Cup and celebrates with teammates after winning the NBA In-Season Tournament Championship game against the Indiana Pacers at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_7085,h_3985,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/si/01j568z2g4ma5vy37mg6.jpg)
- Atlanta Hawks
- Boston Celtics
- Brooklyn Nets
- Charlotte Hornets
- Chicago Bulls
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Dallas Mavericks
- Denver Nuggets
- Detroit Pistons
- Golden State Warriors
- Houston Rockets
- Indiana Pacers
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Miami Heat
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- New Orleans Pelicans
- New York Knicks
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Orlando Magic
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Phoenix Suns
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Sacramento Kings
- San Antonio Spurs
- Toronto Raptors
- Utah Jazz
- Washington Wizards
During the 2023-24 season, the NBA debuted its in-season tournament, also known as the NBA Cup. And it was a success, as far as these things go. While the special courts the league insisted on using for every Cup game were hit or miss, fans generally enjoyed the heightened intensity of what would otherwise be standard regular season games.
The Los Angeles Lakers, led by LeBron James, seemed legitimately excited to be the first to win the Cup and a banner now hangs in Crypto.com Arena.
The 2024-25 season will bring the second iteration of the tournament. Now it's called the Emirates NBA Cup and the "In-Season Tournament" nickname is done away with to keep to what the sponsor paid for. It remains to be seen if the funky courts will remain.
On Tuesday, Aug. 13, the NBA released the full Emirates NBA Cup schedule. Here's everything you need to know about the games and surrounding circumstances.
History of the NBA Cup
One of the more talked-about problems the NBA has faced in the last decade or so has been the devaluing of regular-season games. With such a focus by fans and media on championships won as a metric of measuring greatness, players have zeroed in on the playoffs as the most important time of the year. Which means they will do whatever it takes to enjoy a healthy postseason, even if it comes at the cost of sitting out regular season games or not quite pushing themselves all the way to the limit when a playoff opportunity is not on the line.
The NBA Cup is commissioner Adam Silver's answer to that. By introducing a playoff-like format in the middle of the season, the games are given more meaning. Fans and players both get more invested. In essence, it grants excitement to otherwise relatively boring games in the middle of the NBA calendar.
Notable moments
In the one NBA Cup that's been held so far, LeBron James winning would qualify as the biggest moment. The King is on the back nine of his basketball career and seeing him lock down the Indiana Pacers to lift another trophy was very cool. He earned the first-ever NBA Cup MVP as a result.
2024 NBA Cup Schedule
Here's the full schedule for the 2024 NBA Cup.
Tuesday, November 12
AWAY | HOME | GROUP | TIME |
---|---|---|---|
Atlanta Hawks | Boston Celtics | East C | 7 p.m. ET |
Miami Heat | Detroit Pistons | East B | 7 p.m. ET |
Charlotte Hornets | Orlando Magic | East A | 7 p.m. ET |
New York Knicks | Philadelphia 76ers | East A | 7:30 p.m. ET |
Toronto Raptors | Milwaukee Bucks | East B | 8 p.m. ET |
Phoenix Suns | Utah Jazz | West B | 9 p.m. ET |
Minnesota Timberwolves | Portland Trail Blazers | West A | 10 p.m. ET |
Dallas Mavericks | Golden State Warriors | West C | 10 p.m. ET |
Friday, November 15
AWAY | HOME | GROUP | TIME |
---|---|---|---|
Miami Heat | Indiana Pacers | East B | 7 p.m. ET |
Philadelphia 76ers | Orlando Magic | East A | 7 p.m. ET |
Detroit Pistons | Toronto Raptors | East B | 7 p.m. ET |
Los Angeles Lakers | San Antonio Spurs | West B | 7:30 p.m. ET |
Washington Wizards | Atlanta Hawks | East C | 7:30 p.m. ET |
Chicago Bulls | Cleveland Cavaliers | East C | 7:30 p.m. ET |
Brooklyn Nets | New York Knicks | East A | 7:30 p.m .ET |
Los Angeles Clippers | Houston Rockets | West A | 8 p.m. ET |
Denver Nuggets | New Orleans Pelicans | West C | 8 p.m. ET |
Phoenix Suns | Oklahoma City Thunder | West B | 8 p.m. ET |
Minnesota Timberwolves | Sacramento Kings | West A | 10 p.m. ET |
Memphis Grizzlies | Golden State Warriors | West C | 10 p.m. ET |
Friday, November 22
AWAY | HOME | GROUP | TIME |
---|---|---|---|
Brooklyn Nets | Philadelphia 76ers | East A | 7 p.m. ET |
Boston Celtics | Washington Wizards | East C | 7 p.m. ET |
Indiana Pacers | Milwaukee Bucks | East B | 7:30 p.m. ET |
Atlanta Hawks | Chicago Bulls | East C | 8 p.m. ET |
Portland Trail Blazers | Houston Rockets | West A | 8 p.m. ET |
Golden State Warriors | New Orleans Pelicans | West C | 8 p.m. ET |
Dallas Mavericks | Denver Nuggets | West C | 10 p.m. ET |
Sacramento Kings | Los Angeles Clippers | West A | 10:30 p.m. ET |
Tuesday, November 26
AWAY | HOME | GROUP | TIME |
---|---|---|---|
Chicago Bulls | Washington Wizards | East C | 7 p.m. ET |
Milwaukee Bucks | Miami Heat | East B | 7:30 p.m. ET |
Houston Rockets | Minnesota Timberwolves | West A | 8 p.m. ET |
San Antonio Spurs | Utah Jazz | West B | 9 p.m. ET |
Los Angeles Lakers | Phoenix Suns | West B | 10 p.m. ET |
Friday, November 29
AWAY | HOME | GROUP | TIME |
---|---|---|---|
New York Knicks | Charlotte Hornets | East A | 12 p.m. ET |
Cleveland Cavaliers | Atlanta Hawks | East C | 2:30 p.m. ET |
New Orleans Pelicans | Memphis Grizzlies | West C | 5 p.m. ET |
Los Angeles Clippers | Minnesota Timberwolves | West A | 7:30 p.m. ET |
Orlando Magic | Brooklyn Nets | East A | 7:30 p.m. ET |
Detroit Pistons | Indiana Pacers | East B | 8 p.m. ET |
Toronto Raptors | Miami Heat | East B | 8 p.m. ET |
Boston Celtics | Chicago Bulls | East C | 8 p.m. ET |
Sacramento Kings | Portland Trail Blazers | West A | 10 p.m. ET |
Oklahoma City Thunder | Los Angeles Lakers | West B | 10 p.m. ET |
Tuesday, December 3
AWAY | HOME | GROUP | TIME |
---|---|---|---|
Philadelphia 76ers | Charlotte Hornets | East A | 7 p.m. ET |
Washington Wizards | Cleveland Cavaliers | East C | 7 p.m. ET |
Milwaukee Bucks | Detroit Pistons | East B | 7 p.m. ET |
Indiana Pacers | Toronto Raptors | East B | 7:30 p.m. ET |
Orlando Magic | New York Knicks | East A | 7:30 p.m. ET |
Utah Jazz | Oklahoma City Thunder | West B | 8 p.m. ET |
Memphis Grizzlies | Dallas Mavericks | West C | 8:30 p.m. ET |
San Antonio Spurs | Phoenix Suns | West B | 9 p.m. ET |
Houston Rockets | Sacramento Kings | West A | 10 p.m. ET |
Golden State Warriors | Denver Nuggets | West C | 10 p.m. ET |
Portland Trail Blazers | Los Angeles Clippers | West A | 10:30 p.m. ET |
NBA Cup Playoff Schedule
ROUND | DATE |
---|---|
Quarterfinals | Tuesday, December 10 |
Quarterfinals | Wednesday, December 11 |
Semifinals | Saturday, December 14 |
Championship | Tuesday, December 17 |
NBA Cup Format
The Emirates NBA Cup is separated into a group stage and an elimination stage.
In the group stage, all teams are separated into six different groups, divided by conferences. So there are five teams in the East A group, five teams in the West A group, so on and so forth. Every team will play four games designated as Group Stage Games; each of those games will feature two teams in the same group playing each other.
After those four games are played by each team, the winner of each group (determined by the team with the best record in group play, not overall) will move onto the elimination round. This will unfold in a format similar to the NBA playoffs. There will be a quarterfinals and semifinals before one team from each conference meets in the NBA Cup finals.
Tie-breakers
With four games played, there is a pretty good chance a pair of teams finishes tied atop their group in the win-loss column. If that is the case, the winner of the group is determined by the following tie-breaking procedures, listed in order of priority.
- Point differential in the Group Stage
- Total points scored in the Group Stage
- Regular season record from the 2023-24 NBA regular season
- Random drawing (if two or more teams are still tied following the previous tiebreakers)
In the elimination round, no team can tie and the game will be played until there is a winner, as is the case with regular NBA games.