New Orleans Pelicans Announce Difficult NBA Cup Schedule

The Pelicans will have a difficult task to complete in order to be In-Season Champions this year.

Dec 7, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) handles the ball against New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) during the second quarter in the NBA In Season Tournament Semifinal at T-Mobile Arena. / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The New Orleans Pelicans announced their schedule for the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup on Tuesday. The second in-season tournament begins on November 11th, with the finals again in Las Vegas on December 17th. New Orleans is in West Group C, along with the Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, and Dallas Mavericks.

We're ready!

Our #EmiratesNBACup schedule has been released 🏀 pic.twitter.com/RRkOKlzgVK

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) August 13, 2024

Last year's In-season Tournament was a huge success for the NBA. Traditionally, the length of the regular season lends to not many meaningful games played before the All-Star break. According to the NBA, instituting the tournament was to "provide players and teams with another competition to win, engaging fans in a different way and driving further interest in the early portion of the regular-season schedule.”

The Pelicans went 3-1 in the tournament last year to advance to the knockout round in Las Vegas. They were defeated 133-89 by the Los Angeles Lakers in the semifinals. Los Angeles then defeated Indiana to win the tournament. This year's winner will again compete for a prize pool and the NBA Cup championship trophy.

New Orleans opens tournament play against 3-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets at home on November 15th. The Pelicans defeated Denver last season during Group play, so they hope to rekindle some of that magic again.

They then hit the road to face the defending Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks and their dynamic duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. The teams split the season series 2-2 last season, although three of the four victories were by both teams were by double-digits.

A home game against Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors takes place on November 22nd. Curry is coming off an impressive showing in the Olympics, helping lead Team USA to Gold with his all-time performance in the Gold Medal Game versus France.

Finally, the Pelicans head to Memphis for a tilt against the Grizzlies on the day after Thanksgiving to wrap up Group Play. Ja Morant returned versus suspension against the Pelicans and in his first action of the season hit a game-winning shot to crush the Pelicans.

After Group Play is completed, the top eight teams record-wise move on to the Knockout Round. Those teams include the winners in each group and two wildcard teams. The final eight teams play single-elimination games until the finals to determine the NBA Cup champion.

Every game played in the in-season tournament counts towards every team's 82-game schedule. For the two teams that make the championship, that extra game will not count towards the season record.