How Does The NBA Cup Work? Bracket, Format, Schedule, Prize: NBA In-Season Tournament Explained

The NBA Cup format is an in-season tournament separate from the NBA postseason. It includes all 30 NBA teams and features 67 total games during the first half of the regular season.

The NBA Cup debuted during the 2023-24 NBA season and was won by the Los Angeles Lakers. The tournament’s goal is to add more meaning and excitement to the regular season, especially early on before playoff races heat up.

The tournament lasts about a month, stretching from mid-November to mid-December. Teams change the appearance of their courts and uniforms for NBA Cup games.

The 30 NBA teams are randomly divided up into six groups of five. Each team plays every team in its group once during the group stage, which consists of four games (two home, two away) from the regular-season schedule.

Eight teams (the six group winners and two wild card teams) advance to the knockout round, which is single-elimination. The team that survives and wins all three of its games in the knockout round wins the NBA Cup, receiving a trophy and prize money for their efforts.

With the exception of the championship game, every NBA Cup game counts toward the regular-season standings.

The NBA Cup bracket splits the 30 NBA teams into six groups of five. Three groups are comprised of Eastern Conference teams and three groups consist of Western Conference teams.

The groups are randomly chosen in July before the season starts. During the selection process, the 15 teams in each conference are split up into five groups of three based on the previous year’s regular-season record, so seeds 1-3 are in a group, seeds 4-6 are in a group, etc. One team is then chosen from each mini-group to build a group.

Here’s the 2024 NBA Cup bracket:

• East A: New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets
• East B: Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons
• East C: Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards
• West A: Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers
• West B: Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs
• West C: Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies

The #EmiratesNBACup 2024 Group Draw results!

Starting November 12, all 30 teams will compete for the NBA Cup with 8 teams advancing out of groups into the knockout rounds, with the semifinals and championship held in Las Vegas, December 14 and 17! pic.twitter.com/K9BT9b1wT2

— NBA (@NBA) July 12, 2024

NBA Cup Group Stage

The NBA Cup begins with the group stage, where each team plays every team in its group once on designated NBA Cup nights during the tournament from Nov. 12 to Dec. 3. Each team plays two home games and two road games during the group stage.

The winner (team with the best record) of each group advances to the knockout round, as does a wild card team from each conference (the non-group winner with the best record). In total, eight teams advance from the group round to the knockout stage.

If necessary, tiebreakers are determined based on head-to-head record, point differential, etc.

Group-round games all count toward the regular-season standings. However, to differentiate these games from normal regular-season contests, teams play with different courts and uniforms.

All 30 #NBA Cup court designs. pic.twitter.com/MCSnarWlkE

— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) October 25, 2024

NBA Cup Knockout Round

The knockout round consists of three single-elimination rounds, meaning teams automatically advance to the next round with a win and are eliminated with a loss.

• Quarterfinals
• Semifinals
• Championship

The quarterfinal games are hosted by the two teams with the best record in group play for each conference. The team with the best record hosts the wild card team.

The four winners of those games head to Las Vegas for the semifinal and championship rounds. The championship game is the only NBA Cup game that doesn’t count for the regular season.

The team that wins the championship gets a trophy and each player on the winning team makes $500,000.

To even out the regular season schedule, the 22 teams that don’t qualify for the knockout round play two games against other eliminated teams during the knockout round.

Since teams only play four games in the group stage, it’s possible that two teams in the same group could end up with identical records.

If multiple teams are tied for first place in a group or a wild card spot at the end of group play, the NBA Cup rules use the following tiebreaker methods:

• Head-to-head record in group play
• Point differential in group play
• Total points scored in group play
• Record from the previous regular season
• Random drawing (if two or more teams are still tied following the previous tiebreakers)

Note that points scored in overtime are excluded from the point differential and total points tiebreakers.

The 2024 NBA Cup Final will take place between the two semifinal winners on Dec. 17, 2024, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It will take place three days after the two semifinal games are played at T-Mobile Arena.

The 2024 NBA Cup schedule is as follows:

Group Stage

• Tuesday, Nov. 12 (8 games)
• Friday, Nov. 15 (12 games)
• Tuesday, Nov. 19 (6 games)
• Friday, Nov. 22 (8 games)
• Tuesday, Nob. 26 (5 games)
• Friday, Nov. 29 (10 games)
• Tuesday, Dec. 3 (11 games)

Quarterfinals

• Tuesday, Dec. 10 (2 games)
• Wednesday, Dec. 11 (2 games)

Semifinals

• Saturday, Dec. 14 (2 games)

Championship

• Tuesday, Dec. 17 (1 game)

The winning team of the tournament gets the NBA Cup, which is a 35-pound trophy created by Tiffany & Co. It was designed by Victor Soloman and is made of sterling silver and vermeil. It’s also coated with 24-karat gold and black ceramic.

The NBA Cup also comes with a financial incentive. Players on the championship team get $500,000 apiece, while the runner-ups receive $200,000 each.

The players on the two losing teams in the semifinals receive $100,000 each, while the players on the four losing teams in the quarterfinals receive $50,000 apiece.

Yes, there’s an NBA Cup MVP award, along with an All-Tournament team.

The NBA Cup MVP is chosen by a media panel after the NBA Cup ends. It considers performance throughout the entire tournament, including both the group and knockout stages.

LeBron James won the inaugural NBA Cup MVP in 2023.

The first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament MVP:

LeBron James 🏆 pic.twitter.com/lVxJfgdHhx

— NBA (@NBA) December 10, 2023

There’s also an All-Tournament team, which is chosen by media members after the tournament ends. Like the MVP, it’s based on performance throughout the entire tournament.

Here’s the 2023 NBA Cup All-Tournament Team:

• Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
• Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
• Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns
• Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
• LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers

You can bet on the NBA Cup the same way you can on any NBA game. Betting sites will have NBA Cup odds for markets like the moneyline, spread and total, along with player props like points, rebounds and assists.

You can also bet on more exotic prop markets like first basket scorer, race to X points and stat leaders.

Some sportsbooks will also do special betting markets or promotions around NBA Cup games, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for those as well.

There is also a plethora of futures bets surrounding the NBA Cup ranging from which team will win each group to which team will win the whole tournament.

Find season-long NBA futures on Forbes Betting. You’ll find the best NBA betting promos and NBA betting site recommendations throughout the season.

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