NBA Cup In-Season Tournament: Groups, Format, and How to Stream With Sling
The second year of the NBA Cup In-Season Tournament begins this week. Here is the format, dates, and how to stream with Sling.
Last season marked the first-ever NBA Cup in-season tournament, with the Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Indiana Pacers in the Championship to add to their ludicrous collection of trophies. The week, the newly renamed Emirates NBA Cup tournament gets underway, beginning with a nationally televised doubleheader on TNT: the Philadelphia 76ers hosting the New York Knicks, followed by the Dallas Mavericks traveling to the Bay to take on the Golden State Warriors.
https://youtu.be/ul8bUhj58XI?si=UsJCQWtOvjFA9afN
Because the NBA Cup is still novel and there are six new groups based on last year’s standings, we put together this handy guide to the NBA Cup in-season tournament. To watch nationally televised NBA games on TNT and ESPN with Sling, use the link below to subscribe to Sling Orange. To catch all out-of-market games throughout the tournament and all season long, add NBA League Pass or NBA Team Pass to your subscription at checkout.
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What is the NBA Cup Format?
The NBA Cup in-season tournament is not a separate competition outside of the regular season. Instead, each team will play four “group stage” games whose results count toward the regular season standings but also determine which teams advance to the knockout round.
If you’ve watched World Cup soccer, you’re familiar with the group stage/ knockout format. In this case, all 30 NBA teams have been sorted into six groups of five teams, and the group stage consists of four games, one against each team in your group, a "round-robin" schedule. The groups, which are split evenly between East and West, were randomly determined based on last year’s win-loss record.
After group play finishes on Dec. 3, eight teams will advance to the knockout rounds: the team atop each of the six groups and one wild card team from each conference (click here for full tiebreaking scenarios). The knockout rounds consist of three single-elimination games: Quarterfinals, which will take place on the higher-seeded team’s home court on Dec. 10-11; Semifinals, which will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 14; and the Championship from Vegas on Dec. 17. Quarterfinal and semifinal games will count toward the regular season; only the teams competing in the championship will play an extra game that won’t impact the standings.
What are the Groups for the NBA Cup?
Because this season’s groups were determined by last year’s record, NBA fans with a good memory will notice that teams will not play in the same groups as last year. There are six total groups of five teams: East A, B, and C and West A, B, and C. You can find this year’s groups in the social media post below:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C-nx9o7RVkA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
What Are the Prizes and Who Gets Them?
One of the questions surrounding the tournament is how much motivation players will have to win what is, at this stage, a fairly novel prize. The NBA handled this by making the tournament games count toward regular season standings, the baseline motivator for all players and teams across the league. They also sweetened the pot by throwing in cash prizes for both players and coaches; the players and head coach on the winning team will earn an extra $500,000; runners up get $200,000; semifinalists get $100,000; and quarterfinalists will make $50,000.
What Are the In-Season Tournament Dates?
All group stage games will be played on “Cup Nights” from November 12 to Dec. 3: four Tuesdays (Nov. 12, 19, 26 and Dec. 3) and three Fridays (Nov. 15, 22, and 29). 14 group play games will be nationally televised, along with all seven knockout round games. To watch the remainder of the tournament games, subscribe to NBA League or Team Pass using this link. Here’s the full schedule of the group stage games, nationally televised games are highlighted in bold.
All times Eastern
Tuesday, Nov. 12
Hawks at Celtics, 7 p.m.
Heat at Pistons, 7 p.m.
Hornets at Magic, 7 p.m.
Knicks at 76ers, 7:30 p.m. (TNT)
Raptors at Bucks, 8 p.m.
Suns and Jazz, 9 p.m.
Mavericks at Warriors, 10 p.m. (TNT)
Timberwolves at Trail Blazers, 10 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 15
Heat at Pacers, 7 p.m.
76ers at Magic, 7 p.m.
Pistons at Raptors, 7 p.m.
Lakers at Spurs, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Wizards at Hawks, 7:30 p.m.
Bulls at Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m.
Nets at Knicks, 7:30 p.m.
Clippers at Rockets, 8 p.m.
Denver at Pelicans, 8 p.m.
Suns at Thunder, 8 p.m.
Grizzlies at Warriors, 10 p.m. (ESPN)
Tuesday, Nov. 19
Cavaliers at Celtics, 7 p.m. (TNT)
Hornets at Nets, 7:30 p.m.
Nuggets at Grizzlies, 8 p.m.
Pelicans at Mavericks, 8:30 p.m.
Thunder at Spurs, 9:30 p.m. (TNT)
Jazz at Lakers, 10:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 22
Nets at 76ers, 7 p.m.
Celtics at Wizards, 7 p.m.
Pacers at Bucks, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Hawks at Bulls, 8 p.m.
Trail Blazers at Rockets, 8 p.m.
Warriors at Pelicans, 8 p.m.
Mavericks at Nuggets, 10 p.m. (ESPN)
Kings at Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 26
Bulls at Wizards, 7 p.m.
Bucks at Heat, 7:30 p.m. (TNT)
Rockets at Timberwolves, 8 p.m.
Spurs at Jazz, 9 p.m.
Lakers at Suns, 10 p.m. (TNT)
Friday, Nov. 29
Knicks at Hornets, noon (NBA TV)
Cavaliers at Hawks, 2:30 p.m. (NBA TV)
Pelicans at Grizzlies, 5 p.m. (NBA TV)
Clippers at Timberwolves, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Magic at Nets, 7:30 p.m.
Pistons at Pacers, 8 p.m.
Raptors at Heat, 8 p.m.
Celtics at Bulls, 8 p.m.
Kings at Trail Blazers, 10 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 3
76ers at Magic, 7 p.m.
Wizards at Cavaliers, 7 p.m.
Bucks at Pistons, 7 p.m.
Magic at Knicks, 7:30 p.m. (TNT)
Pacers at Raptors, 7:30 p.m.
Jazz at Thunder, 8 p.m.
Grizzlies at Mavericks, 8:30 p.m.
Spurs at Suns, 9 p.m.
Warriors at Nuggets, 10 p.m. (TNT)
Rockets at Kings, 10 p.m.
Trail Blazers at Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
Following the group stage – which, like last year, will feature custom NBA Cup courts for the home teams – here’s the schedule for the remaining three rounds:
Dec. 10 and 11 - Quarterfinals
Dec. 14 - Semifinals
Dec. 17 - Championship
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