The second iteration of the NBA's newest annual tournament began on November 12. After initially being called the "In-Season Tournament," it is now called the "NBA Emirates Cup." While the name differs, the randomized groupings, unique court designs, and drawn-out play will carry over from the inaugural tournament a season ago.
An ever-adapting league, Adam Silver and the NBA ushered in the early-season tournament to increase fan engagement and incentive competition. Last season's competition was unequivocally a success. Viewership shot up, social channels were set ablaze, and players praised the games' intensity. Silver's newest adaptation is certainly here to stay.
Although it's technically an in-season tournament, all 67 games besides the championship are counted toward the regular-season standings. Prior to the ultimate game, eight teams will advance to the knockout rounds, consisting of single-elimination games a la March Madness. The teams who qualify for the knockout rounds will compete against one another to bring home the NBA Cup.
NBA Cup Schedule: Key dates and format
The NBA Cup officially began on November 12, but the Chicago Bulls began tournament play on the 16th. The Bulls' first opponent was the then-undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers. Chicago traveled to Cleveland just four days after hosting the Cavs in Chicago on November 11.
The Bulls' next two opponents were the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards. Chicago squared off against Atlanta on November 22 before traveling to the nation's capital to battle the Wizards on November 26. Chicago's final game of the group stage came against the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics on the 29th.
If Chicago had qualified for the quarterfinals, they'd face off against fellow group winners. These games will be held on December 10 and 11, with the semifinals set for the 14th. Since the Bulls did not qualify for the knockout rounds, two regular-season games will be added to Chicago's schedule. These games will be held between December 12 and 16 prior to the NBA Cup championship on December 17.
How teams qualify and are grouped for the NBA Cup
As alluded to earlier in the article, the NBA Cup uses a rather drawn-out method of group play rather than a confined tournament. The NBA will use "Cup Nights," where every team's result on a given "Cup Night" will be subjected to the group play standings. These Cup Nights will occur on Tuesdays and Fridays from the 11th to December 3.
Each team played four games within its predesignated group. A team's record in these four games will determine whether it moves on to the knockout rounds. But, in addition to the winners of the six groupings, two other teams possessing the next best records will advance. Therefore, even though Chicago didn't win its respective group, it could have still advanced to the knockout stage.
Of course, with such little margin for error, there's likely to be a scenario where two or more teams tie in the standings. According to NBA.com, the tie among teams will be broken by several sequential tiebreakers: head-to-head record, point differential, total points scored, record from the 2023-24 season, and at last, a random drawing.
NBA Cup results: Tracking wins, losses, and top performances
East Group C Standings
Team | Wins | Losses | Point Differential |
|---|---|---|---|
Atlanta Hawks | 3 | 1 | +15 |
Boston Celtics | 3 | 1 | +23 |
Chicago Bulls | 2 | 2 | +6 |
Cleveland Cavaliers | 1 | 2 | -1 |
Washington Wizards | 0 | 3 | -43 |
Knockout stage and finals: Format and rules
The group stage will see eight teams advance to the knockout rounds. Hence the term knockout, all these games will present a "lose and you're out" scenario. Like the group stage, several of these contests, besides the championship, will count towards a team's regular season standings.
The quarterfinals will see two teams from the Eastern and Western Conference hosting an elimination game. The team with the best record from each conference will play the fourth-ranked wildcard team while the other two group winners will face off against one another.
The rest of the tournament is business as usual. Those who advance past the quarterfinals will square off in the semifinals before an inter-conference clash in the championship game. For reference, a season ago, the Indiana Pacers from the east and the Los Angeles Lakers representing the west clashed in the deciding game.
Rewards and incentives for winning the NBA Cup
All players on the tournament-winning team will earn a $500,000 bonus. The runner-ups will receive $200,000. But what about players on two-way contracts? Yes, those players will also receive winnings, albeit at half of what players on guaranteed contracts will earn—$250,000.
While winning the NBA Cup is the ultimate goal, teams who reach the quarterfinals and semifinals will also see their players taking home a nice chunk of change. Last year, players who made the quarterfinals earned $50,000, and those who advanced to the semifinals earned $100,000. All in all, the champions take home $650,000. Furthermore, the head coach earns what the players do, while assistants earn roughly 75 percent of the head coach's winnings.
Aside from monetary rewards, a media panel will select the Most Valuable Player and the All-Tournament Team. The selection won't be based solely on a player's performance in the knockout rounds. The panel will consider the group stage as well as the quarterfinals, semifinals, and championship games. Last season, LeBron James was named the MVP after the Lakers brought home the inaugural trophy,