With the basketball season in full swing, Friday, October 30, marks the start of the NBA Cup, as all 30 teams across the league battle for the in-season tournament championship.
With the competition still very new, many fans might be asking, ‘What is the NBA Cup?’ and though it’s been happening for a few years now, that’s still a very valid question.
The NBA Cup has been going on since 2023 and is similar to the in-season competitions seen across soccer leagues in Europe. It doesn’t hold as much weight as the NBA Finals, but it gives an extra sense of competition to teams and players early in the season, while also offering a financial benefit for the winners.
The 2026 NBA Cup begins Friday, October 30, with a total of 10 games on the schedule to start the tournament.
As a reminder, the NBA Cup games count for the regular season records of each team. These games are included in the schedule and basically count twice, once for the regular season and once for this tournament.
What Is The NBA Cup? Basketball In-Season Tournament Explained
According to the league itself, here is a brief primer on the NBA Cup explained.
“All 30 teams have been randomly drawn into groups of five within their conference based on win-loss records from the 2025-26 regular season. Beginning Friday, Oct. 30 and continuing through Friday, Nov. 27, each team will play four designated Group Play games on “Cup Nights” – one game against each opponent in its group, with two games at home and two on the road,” the league announced.
“Eight teams will advance to the Knockout Rounds: the team with the best standing in Group Play games in each of the six groups and two “wild cards” (the team from each conference with the best record in Group Play games that finished second in its group). The Knockout Rounds will consist of single-elimination games in the Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Championship. The Quarterfinals (Friday, Dec. 4 and Saturday, Dec. 5) and Semifinals (Tuesday, Dec. 8 and/or Wednesday, Dec. 9) will be played in NBA team markets, with each game at the home arena of the higher-seeded team. The teams in the Knockout Rounds will compete for a prize pool and the NBA Cup championship trophy.”
As mentioned, teams are broken up into six different groups: three composed of Eastern Conference teams, and three of Western Conference teams.
After each team plays all the opponents in their group over the next few weeks, the winners of each group, including two ‘wild cards’, will advance to the knockout rounds, which are in a traditional bracket format.
The group stage of the NBA Cup will take place from October 30 to November 27, with each team playing four games total. The quarterfinals will take place on December 4-5, and the semifinals on December 8-9.
Once it gets down to the final two teams, the NBA Cup championship will be played on December 11, 2026 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Additionally, here are the previous winners of the NBA Cup:
WHO WILL WIN the 2026 @emirates NBA Cup?
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2023: Los Angeles Lakers
2024: Milwaukee Bucks
2025: New York Knicks
The Knicks broke the streak of teams that had won the NBA Cup but failed to win the NBA Finals in the same year, as they were champions of both competitions last season.
2026 NBA Cup Groups
Now that the NBA Cup has been explained, including when and how it will play out, here are all the groups for all 30 teams competing in the competition.
West Group A: Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz
West Group B: LA Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder
West Group C: Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs
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East Group A: Brooklyn Nets, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors
East Group B: Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers
East Group C: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards
Games On TV Today To Start The Tournament
With all the NBA Cup basics out of the way, Friday, October 30, marks the start of tournament action.
Here is the full schedule of basketball games on TV today to begin the 2026 NBA Cup:
Charlotte Hornets at Washington Wizards: 7 pm EST, live on NBA League Pass and local channels
Chicago Bulls at Boston Celtics: 7:30 pm EST, live on NBA League Pass and local channels
Detroit Pistons at Brooklyn Nets: 7:30 pm EST, live on NBA League Pass and local channels
Orlando Magic at Toronto Raptors: 7:30 pm EST, live on NBA League Pass and local channels
New York Knicks at Philadelphia 76ers: 7:30 pm EST, live on Amazon Prime Video
Indiana Pacers at Miami Heat: 8 pm EST, live on NBA League Pass and local channels
Houston Rockets at Dallas Mavericks: 8 pm EST, live on NBA League Pass and local channels
Los Angeles Clippers at Minnesota Timberwolves: 8 pm EST, live on NBA League Pass and local channels
Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors: 10 pm EST, live on Amazon Prime Video
Denver Nuggets at Phoenix Suns: 10 pm EST, live on NBA League Pass and local channels
As mentioned, teams will only be playing opponents within their respective groups, so there won’t be overlap, but all five teams in each group will play against each other once, with the top teams automatically advancing to the knockout round.
The fourth iteration of the NBA Cup is about to begin, and tune in to all the action now that you know how the competition works.
What Is The NBA Cup? In-Season Tournament, Format, Games Explained