Entering its third year, the NBA Cup has found its footing.
Fans have come to know what to expect — specially-designed and colorful courts, Statement Edition uniforms, having to think about point differential (the tiebreaker that leads to a few teams running up the score), and eventually seeing a champion crowned in Las Vegas. The NBA Cup is also giving the league what it wants — fans and media are talking about it during the middle of football season, and the league was able to make more money by selling it as part of their new, massive television package (there will be a couple of games on NBC and Peacock).
The 2025 NBA Cup tips off Friday night — on Halloween — and runs every Friday night into late November, followed by the knockout rounds in December. Here is everything you need to know about this year’s NBA Cup.
What’s the format for the NBA Cup 2025?
The format is the one thing that has not substantially changed in the three years of the NBA Cup: All 30 teams have been drawn into one of six groups (five teams in each group, three East groups and three West groups). Each team plays the other teams in its group once — four games total — and those games count double as both regular season games and NBA Cup games.
Fans will instantly recognize these as NBA Cup games when they tune in every Friday starting Oct. 31 through Nov. 28 (on Amazon Prime), with Cup games on NBC and Peacock on Nov. 25, as well as on ESPN Nov. 26. NBA Cup games will be played on specially designed courts with the home team wearing their Statement Edition uniforms. Nobody is going to confuse these with standard regular-season games.
ALL 30 TEAM COURTS FOR EMIRATES NBA CUP 2025 pic.twitter.com/aZzsIdUedL
— NBA (@NBA) October 24, 2025
The six group winners plus a wild card from each conference — determined by head-to-head record and point differential — go into an eight-team knockout round bracket (East vs. East, West vs. West, similar to the NBA playoffs where the conferences are separate until the Finals). The knockout round games are single-elimination.
The final four teams left standing head to Las Vegas for the NBA Cup semifinals on Dec. 13 and the Cup Final on Dec. 16.
What are the groups for the NBA Cup 2025?
Here’s a look at the NBA Cup 2025 groups (with some analysis added in).
👀 the 6 Groups for Emirates NBA Cup 2025
— NBA (@NBA) October 29, 2025
Group Play begins this Friday, October 31 at 7:00pm/et on Prime and NBA League Pass! pic.twitter.com/JGxkI3A1Ea
Western Conference
West Group A: Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz
West Group B: Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans
West Group C: Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs
Analysis: Group C is the “group of death” in the NBA Cup draw — Houston, at 2-2, has the worst record of the group so far, and this is the team that just added Kevin Durant and is starting to find its footing. San Antonio is undefeated and Victor Wembanyama is the talk of the league. The Warriors are 4-1 and look like they can be contenders, and Denver is rolling with Nikola Jokic recording a triple-double in all four of their games. Group C will be a blood bath.
Group A appears to be Oklahoma City’s to win, although Minnesota could pose a threat, depending on when Anthony Edwards returns. Group B is filled with teams battling injuries early, the healthiest team could and should pull away and take the group.
Eastern Conference
East Group A: Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards
East Group B: Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers
East Group C: New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets
Analysis: Group C is the most interesting group in the East. It features defending NBA Cup champs Milwaukee, with Antetokounmpo starting the season playing like an MVP. It features an NBA Cup and NBA Finals betting favorite in New York, a team starting the season inconsistently, but can it find its footing in Cup games? The Bulls play fast and keep winning. The Heat are catching teams off guard with a new offensive system that features very few pick-and-rolls. And with LaMelo Ball, the Hornets are always entertaining.
Cleveland should be the team to beat in Group A, and their biggest threat may be the Wizards, who have been feisty to start the season, despite their 1-3 record. Philadelphia is starting fast behind Tyrese Maxey, and Group B could be theirs to lose the way things look now.
What’s the schedule for the NBA Cup 2025?
Most NBA Cup games will be played on Friday nights starting on Halloween, Oct. 31, and running through Nov. 28, with games highlighted on Amazon Prime (which will also broadcast the semifinals and Cup Final from Las Vegas). There will be Cup games on NBC and Peacock on Nov. 25, as well as on ESPN on Nov. 26.
Here is the full schedule for the NBA Cup 2025 (All times Eastern):
Friday, Oct. 31
Hawks vs. Pacers (7 p.m.)
Celtics vs. 76ers (7 p.m.)
Raptors vs. Cavaliers (7:30 p.m.)
Knicks vs. Bulls (8 p.m. ET)
Lakers vs. Grizzlies (9:30 p.m.)
Jazz vs. Suns (10 p.m.)
Nuggets vs. Blazers (10 p.m.)
Pelicans vs. Clippers (10:30 p.m.)
Friday, Nov. 7
Celtics vs. Magic (7 p.m.)
Cavaliers vs. Wizards (7 p.m.)
Raptors vs. Hawks (7:30 p.m.)
Pistons vs. Nets (7:30 p.m.)
Rockets vs. Spurs (7:30 p.m.)
Hornets vs. Heat (8 p.m.)
Mavericks vs. Grizzlies (8 p.m.)
Bulls vs. Bucks (8 p.m.)
Jazz vs. Timberwolves (8 p.m.)
Warriors vs. Nuggets (10 p.m.)
Thunder vs. Kings (10 p.m.)
Friday, Nov. 14
Heat vs. Knicks (7 p.m.)
Nets vs. Magic (7 p.m.)
76ers vs. Pistons (7:30 p.m.)
Blazers vs. Rockets (8 p.m.)
Hornets vs. Bucks (8 p.m.)
Kings vs. Timberwolves (8 p.m.)
Lakers vs. Pelicans (8 p.m.)
Clippers vs. Mavericks (8:30)
Warriors vs. Spurs (9:30 p.m.)
Friday, Nov. 21
Pacers vs. Cavaliers (7 p.m.)
Nets vs. Celtics (7:30 p.m.)
Wizards vs. Raptors (7:30 p.m.)
Heat vs. Bulls (8 p.m.)
Pelicans vs. Mavericks (8:30 p.m.)
Timberwolves vs. Suns (9 p.m.)
Nuggets vs. Rockets (9:30 p.m.)
Thunder vs. Jazz (10 p.m.)
Blazers vs. Warriors (10 p.m.)
Tuesday, Nov. 25
Hawks vs. Wizards (7 p.m.)
Magic vs. 76ers (8 p.m. on NBC Coast 2 Coast/Peacock)
Clippers vs. Lakers (11 p.m. on NBC Coast 2 Coast/Peacock)
Wednesday, Nov. 26
Pistons vs. Celtics (5 p.m.)
Knicks vs. Hornets (7 p.m.)
Bucks vs. Heat (7:30 p.m.)
Pacers vs. Raptors (7:30 p.m.)
Timberwolves vs. Thunder (7:30 p.m.)
Grizzlies vs. Pelicans (8 p.m.)
Rockets vs. Warriors (10 p.m.)
Spurs vs. Blazers (10 p.m.)
Suns vs. Kings (10 p.m.)
Friday, Nov. 28
Cavaliers vs. Hawks (7:30 p.m.)
76ers vs. Nets (7:30 p.m.)
Bulls vs. Hornets (7:30 p.m.)
Magic vs. Pistons (7:30 p.m.)
Wizards vs. Pacers (7:30 p.m.)
Bucks vs. Knicks (7:30 p.m.)
Suns vs. Thunder (9:30 p.m.)
Spurs vs. Nuggets (9:30 p.m.)
Kings vs. Jazz (9:30 p.m.)
Mavericks vs. Lakers (10 p.m.)
Grizzlies vs. Clippers (10 p.m.)
Knockout Rounds
Quarterfinals: Dec. 9 and 10
Semifinals: Dec. 13 (Las Vegas)
Championship: Dec. 16 (Las Vegas)
The six group winners plus two wild cards (one from each conference) advance to the knockout rounds. Starting with the semifinals, the entire show moves to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
NBA Cup 2025 odds
Here are the odds for the top 10 (well, 11 because of a tie) teams to win the NBA Cup 2024, via our partners at DraftKings:
Oklahoma City (+300)
Cleveland (+750)
New York (+800)
Denver (+1200)
Orlando (+1600)
Houston (+1600)
LA Clippers (+1700)
Golden State (+1800)
Atlanta (+1900)
Philadelphia (+2000)
Minnesota (+2000)
Last season’s Cup winner, the Milwaukee Bucks, were +2000 entering the tournament.
What does the winner of the in-season tournament get?
Money.
Sure, there is a trophy, and for plenty of fan bases winning the NBA Cup can be celebrated as a sign the team is on the right track. However, for the players, it’s about the money. Players on teams that advance out of the group stage receive bonuses from a league-sponsored prize pool, with teams that advance further getting more.
Each player on the championship team will receive $514,971. Each player on the runner-up in the NBA Cup gets $205,988. Players from the two teams that advanced to the final four in Las Vegas but lost in the semifinals will each receive $102,994. Players on teams that advanced out of group play but lost in the quarterfinals will get $51,497 each.
While even the championship money is comparable to another game check for a star like Giannis Antetokounmpo or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, it can be a meaningful bump for players on minimum salaries at the end of the bench. The stars realize who they are playing for when things get serious.
Who won the 2024 NBA Cup?
Milwaukee bounced back from an ugly 2-8 start to the season to find its footing in NBA Cup games and went on a run behind Giannis Antetokounmpo. He lifted them to the Cup Finals against Oklahoma City, where Antetokounmpo had a 26-point triple-double, completely controlling the game on both sides of the ball.
GIANNIS, BUCKS WIN THE #EmiratesNBACup 🏆
— NBA (@NBA) December 18, 2024
🔥 26 PTS
🔥 19 REB
🔥 10 AST
🔥 3 BLK
🔥 2 STL
The Greek Freak put on a SHOW in Vegas! pic.twitter.com/tHDReTvS25
Oklahoma City had an ice-cold shooting night in the Cup Finals, going 5-of-32 (15.6%) on 3-pointers. The Thunder are a drive-and-kick team, while the Bucks played heavy drop coverage, packing the paint, taking advantage of the length of Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez. It was a classic clash of styles. All game long, the Thunder drove into the paint, sucked in the defense, kicked out to open shooters, and… missed the open shot. The Thunder handled that all much better six months later in the NBA Finals.
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers won the inaugural 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament (before it was officially branded as the NBA Cup).
Where is the NBA Cup 2025 Finals being held?
The NBA Cup 2024 Finals will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Dec. 16. The game will be broadcast on NBA on Prime.
What is the point of the NBA Cup?
The NBA Cup is Commissioner Adam Silver’s baby.
He pushed for this and got the owners to buy in — and Silver has largely been proven right. The fact that broadcast rights for the NBA Cup were part of the league’s massive $7.6 billion new television deal was a huge win for Silver (and means the Cup isn’t going anywhere for a long time). At the end of the day, the NBA is a business and adding the Cup brought the league and its players more money.
When first promoting the Cup idea, Silver listed a few reasons he believed it would work for the NBA. First, looking to the European soccer model, the idea was to have a second trophy of value — clearly not as important as an NBA title, but with merit — for teams to compete for and fan bases to cheer for. It was something to combat the “championship or bust” mentality of some fans.
Additionally, Silver and the league office have been exploring ways to increase casual fan interest in regular-season games. Silver wants to end, or at least diminish, the idea of the marathon NBA regular season as something teams have to get through to get to the “real season” of the playoffs. The NBA Cup helps with that.
