The third iteration of the Emirates NBA Cup continues as group play wraps up Friday and the knockout-round matchups begin to take shape
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers won the inaugural in-season tournament trophy in 2023, with James claiming the honors of tournament MVP. Last season, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks raised their NBA Cup banner over the eventual NBA champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
But which team will stake its claim for the hardware in Las Vegas this season, and can it continue that tournament momentum into the postseason?
Here's what you need to know about the in-season tournament, including rule changes for this season, takeaways from the week's biggest games, schedule and scores.
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Takeaways | FAQ | Schedule | Cup standings
Friday takeaways: Thunder, Magic lock up top seeds
Only two teams had clinched spots in the knockout rounds of the NBA Cup heading into Friday's final night of group stage action. With several head-to-head showdowns for quarterfinal spots, the opportunity was there for a fun night of basketball across the Association.
It delivered -- and then some.
Several critical games came down to the final seconds. And, when the dust settled, the quarterfinal field was set with a nice blend of the game's longstanding stars, as well as a smattering of up-and-coming teams from across the league.
Not surprisingly, the top overall seed from group stage play wound up being the league's top team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, who improved to 19-1 overall with a 123-119 victory over the Phoenix Suns, their 11th in a row.
Phoenix, though, made Oklahoma City work for all 48 minutes to eventually pull out the victory, as Collin Gillespie nearly came up with an incredible steal that would've given the Suns a chance to tie the score or win the game in the final seconds. However, he couldn't save the ball to a teammate, and Oklahoma City escaped.
The Thunder's reward for that win? A quarterfinal rematch with the Suns back in Oklahoma City on either Dec. 9 or 10.
The Orlando Magic knew going into their game in Detroit on Friday that a win would allow them to clinch the No. 1 seed in the East. And, for much of the game, it looked like Orlando would take care of that, as the lead hovered around a 10-point advantage for much of the night.
But a furious close by the Pistons gave them a chance to tie the score when Cade Cunningham had a brilliant intentional free throw miss in the closing seconds, with it ricocheting directly back to him so he could kick it out to Duncan Robinson for a potential tying 3-pointer. Robinson missed, however, and Orlando earned a 110-107 victory -- and, with it, the top spot in the group.
The Magic will host the Heat in the quarterfinals after Miami -- which went 3-1 in group stage action and was plus-49 after closing out play with a win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday -- was locked into the wild-card spot by virtue of the New York Knicks beating the Bucks at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.
The Knicks and Bucks entered the night as the only teams to have qualified for the knockout rounds in each of its first two iterations. And, by the time the game reached its final few minutes Friday night, only one of them would get the chance to do so for a third time, with the winner guaranteed of advancing and the loser guaranteed to be eliminated.
Giannis Antetokounmpo put up 30 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists in 28 minutes in his return from a groin strain, but it was New York that prevailed with a 118-109 victory. Jalen Brunson finished with 37 points, including an and-1 layup with 1:27 remaining that helped seal the outcome.
New York will head to Toronto to face the Raptors, who went 4-0 and clinched one of the top two seeds in group stage action with Brandon Ingram's game-winning jumper against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night. Toronto needed the Pistons to beat the Magic to claim the top spot because the Magic sported a better point differential.
That left one spot up for grabs out West after the Los Angeles Lakers clinched their group with a victory over the LA Clippers on Tuesday night. And, remarkably, it was the San Antonio Spurs -- playing without star Victor Wembanyama, who remains sidelined with a calf strain -- who stormed back from an 18-point deficit to stun the Denver Nuggets on their home floor and earn a trip to the knockout round.
San Antonio entered the week knowing that two victories -- at Portland on Wednesday and at Denver on Friday -- would be enough to allow the Spurs to advance. But the Spurs delivered in surprising fashion, with Devin Vassell scoring 35 points on 12-for-17 shooting, including 7-for-9 from 3, and Justin Champagnie adding 25 as they outdueled Jamal Murray (37 points) and Nikola Jokic (21 points, 9 rebounds, 10 assists) in the 139-136 Spurs victory.
That meant the Spurs, who could potentially have Wembanyama back for the quarterfinals in 10 days, will travel to Los Angeles to play the Lakers in the quarterfinals. Luka Doncic & Co. closed out group play with a 129-119 victory over Anthony Davis and the Dallas Mavericks. -- Tim Bontemps
Friday's Games
FAQ (by Tim Bontemps)
The NBA unveiled the six groups for the third edition of its in-season tournament -- now called the Emirates NBA Cup. Here's a look at everything you'll need to know about the return of the competition.
What is the format?
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has had a long-standing fascination with European soccer. Establishing an in-season cup competition within the NBA schedule came from soccer leagues having both a regular-season title, won by the team with the most points over the full year, and a separate tournament (or, in some leagues, multiple tournaments) that runs concurrently with the league season. In England, for example, there are the various divisions -- led by the Premier League -- and also the FA Cup competition. But unlike those European leagues, which play their cup competitions outside of their league schedules, the NBA Cup is built into the regular-season slate. The 30 NBA teams are split into six five-team groups -- three featuring Eastern Conference teams, and three comprising Western Conference teams -- with each team then playing one game against the other four in its group. The winner of each group, plus the team with the best record among the non-group winners, will then advance to the knockout stage of the competition.
How will this impact the regular-season schedule and standings?
Typically, the NBA sends out a full 82-game schedule in mid-August. Now, the league sends out only 80 games and leaves a gap for roughly a week to fill in later, depending on how the group stage of the NBA Cup plays out.
The two teams from the East and West that lose in the quarterfinals will play their 82nd game against one another on one of four dates: Dec. 11, 12, 14 or 15. Meanwhile, the 22 teams that fail to qualify for the knockout rounds will have their final two games scheduled -- one at home and one on the road -- on Dec. 11 or 12 and 14 or 15 against others eliminated in the group stage.
The teams that reach the NBA Cup's finale will actually play 83 games -- though the championship game won't count toward the standings or any statistical markers. All four teams that make it to Las Vegas for the semifinals will have completed their 82 games, and won't need anything else added. The additional wrinkle added to this year's schedule is the possibility that a few dates on the calendar may move around. On Dec. 8, there are currently three games scheduled: the Sacramento Kings at the Indiana Pacers; the Phoenix Suns at the Minnesota Timberwolves; and the San Antonio Spurs at the New Orleans Pelicans. If any of those teams are playing in the quarterfinals, taking place on Dec. 9 and 10, those games would move to Dec. 7 (a decision that would be made by Nov. 29, the day after the end of the group stage).
This also would only be an issue if one of the teams were playing on Dec. 9. If they're playing Dec. 10, nothing will change. The other scheduling quirk is that there are currently eight teams -- the Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, LA Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and Washington Wizards -- scheduled to play on Dec. 17, the day after the championship game in Las Vegas.
Any team that makes it to the semifinals in Las Vegas would have that game moved later into the schedule to avoid back-to-back games. The NBA made this change in an effort to avoid having empty days on the calendar while attempting to minimize back-to-back games for all teams as much as possible.
Are the semifinals and finals still being played in Las Vegas?
For this season, yes. Next year, however, the semifinals -- like the quarterfinals -- will be played at home sites. Having teams go to Sin City for a week (and, more importantly, trying to get fans there for two games over several days on short notice) hasn't gone the way the league initially believed that it would.
What is new about the tournament this year?
Most of the games are being shown on Amazon Prime, including the knockout rounds. The schedule is also primarily on Fridays, beginning on Halloween, rather than bouncing back and forth from Tuesday to Friday throughout November as it did during the first two years of the tournament.
Why does the NBA Cup include regular-season games?
Before its launch, one of the main questions surrounding the in-season tournament was why any team would be incentivized to compete in it. The NBA ensured teams will be motivated by making every game part of the season -- and, being in-conference, potentially important from a playoff-tiebreaker standpoint. If this had been set up like the cup tournaments in European soccer, there would have been nothing stopping NBA teams from opting out, literally or figuratively -- sitting their top players for extra rest.
What teams make up the groups?
To create the groups, the NBA put all 15 teams in each conference into five pots, separated by their finish in last season's standings. Pot 1 included the teams that finished 1-3 in regular-season record, teams 4-6 went into Pot 2, teams 7-9 into Pot 3, teams 10-12 into Pot 4, and teams 13-15 into Pot 5. As a result, the following groups were drawn:
East A: Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards
East B: Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers
East C: New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets
West A: Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz
West B: Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans
West C: Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs
Does one group stand out the most from the others?
This one is easy: West Group C. Three of the top four teams in the Western Conference -- Houston, Denver and Golden State -- are in the group, plus a Blazers team that excelled down the stretch last season. Oh, and don't forget about Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, too. West Group B is also competitive, but Memphis is already dealing with injuries, Dallas is missing Kyrie Irving and the Pelicans are expected to be well outside the playoff picture.
What do players get for winning?
In 2023, the first year the tournament was held, the players on the winning team received $500,000 each, while those on the runners-up got $200,000. The losing players of the semifinals each got $100,000, and those ousted in the quarterfinals each got $50,000. Now, in each subsequent year, the prizes will be slightly higher, as a result of negotiated raises year over year to keep pace with increases in the salary cap and basketball-related income as part of the most recent collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association.
Will anyone earn individual honors for their play in NBA Cup games?
There will be an MVP award, as well as an all-tournament team.
Will this have any impact on the playoffs?
Not beyond the games counting in the regular-season standings (and toward tiebreakers). The only playoff impact comes from the wins and losses accrued throughout the tournament. Though there was debate among league insiders about guaranteeing a playoff berth for winning the tournament, ultimately, that idea (or any other to further incentivize teams) was not enacted.
Why is it called the Emirates NBA Cup?
The league struck a sponsorship deal with Emirates, the Dubai-based airline, to sponsor the tournament after its initial run. The NBA said last year that it went with the most basic titles for both the tournament and its trophy -- the "in-season tournament" and "NBA Cup" -- as a way to introduce the concept to fans. However, using such nondescript names had another clear advantage: It gave the league a blank slate in case the tournament and cup became properties it ended up selling to a sponsor, and avoided the complications that could arise by naming them after someone (for example, the late NBA commissioner David Stern, one possibility that had been floated before the tournament was officially unveiled).
2025 Emirates NBA Cup schedule:
All times Eastern
Group Play
Oct. 31
Nov. 7
Nov. 14
Nov. 21
Nov. 25
Nov. 26
Nov. 28
Knockout
Dec. 9: Quarterfinals
Miami Heat at Orlando Magic, 6 p.m. ET (Prime)
New York Knicks at Toronto Raptors, 8:30 p.m. ET (Prime)
Dec. 10: Quarterfinals
Phoenix Suns at Oklahoma City Thunder, 7:30 p.m. ET (Prime)
San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers, 10 p.m. ET (Prime)
Dec. 13: Semifinals
TBD vs. TBD, 5:30 p.m. ET (Prime)
TBD vs. TBD, 9 p.m. ET (Prime)
Dec. 16: Championship
TBD vs. TBD, 8:30 p.m. ET (Prime)
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