The 2024 NBA Cup: Format, Groups, Schedule, Prizes, Favorite

Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers brings the ball up the court against Jarred Vanderbilt #2 of the Los Angeles Lakers in the third quarter of the championship game of the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. on Dec. 9, 2023. Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Last season saw the first significant change to the NBA season in quite a while, as the league introduced the NBA In-Season Tournament. The Los Angeles Lakers won the inaugural edition, and it’s back for its second year with a new name and sponsor—the Emirates NBA Cup.

The 2024 NBA Cup will begin on Tuesday, and here’s everything you need to know about the multi-stage tournament that involves all 30 teams.

The Format

The teams were randomly drawn into six groups of five—three per conference— based on 2023-24 regular-season standings. Each team will play two home and two road games against its fellow group opponents, with the six group winners, plus two wildcards—one from each conference—advancing to the knockout stage. The quarterfinals, as well as all group play, will be contested at home arenas before the semifinals and final are played in Las Vegas.

The group play games will take place on Tuesdays and Fridays from Nov. 12 through Dec. 3—all NBA games to take place on these days will be NBA Cup contests. All games, with the exception of the NBA Cup Final, will also count as regular-season games, which means the two teams who advance to the final will play an extra 83^rd game that won’t count towards the standings, nor will a player’s or team’s performance from the championship game count towards regular-season statistics.

Changes for 2024

Outside of a schedule modification and a visual change, the NBA didn’t tweak much of anything else when it comes to the 2024 NBA Cup. Last year’s semifinals and final were held on a Thursday and Saturday, respectively. This year’s semis will take place on a Saturday (Dec. 14), with the 2024 NBA Cup Championship on a Tuesday (Dec. 17). This will allow for the semis to not oppose a Thursday Night Football NFL game, as it did last year.

Fans will surely notice the other change, and that’s with the courts used for the NBA Cup. The courts in the inaugural tournament received lots of reaction—some good, some bad—so the NBA has tamed down its redesigns this year. The courts will still be different than the hardwood seen in non-NBA Cup games, but there won’t be a runway that stretches from basket to basket like there was last year.

2024 NBA Cup Groups

East Group A: Knicks, Magic, 76ers, Nets, Hornets

East Group B: Bucks, Pacers, Heat, Raptors, Pistons

East Group C: Celtics, Cavaliers, Bulls, Hawks, Wizards

West Group A: Timberwolves, Clippers, Kings, Rockets, Trail Blazers

West Group B: Thunder, Suns, Lakers, Jazz, Spurs

West Group C: Nuggets, Mavericks, Pelicans, Warriors, Grizzlies

Group of Death?

Every World Cup or Champions League draw seemingly has a group of death, and so does the 2024 NBA Cup.

That honor goes to Group C in the Western Conference, which has the maximum of three playoff teams from last year, plus two expected postseason squads this year. It features the 2023 NBA champion Denver Nuggets, a 2024 conference finalist in the Minnesota Timberwolves, and a New Orleans Pelicans team that won 49 games a year ago.

Additionally, West Group C has the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies, two teams that dealt with various injuries and suspensions to key players a year ago but are already looking like contenders this season.

NBA Cup Opening Night

While there’s a playoff rematch taking place on the opening night of the 2024 NBA Cup on Tuesday involving the Knicks and 76ers, the headline matchup of the night sees the Warriors hosting the Mavericks.

That means it marks Klay Thompson’s return to the Bay Area following his departure from the Warriors this offseason. There will be a pregame celebration honoring Thompson, a ceremony that Golden State has dubbed “Salute Captain Klay,” in reference to Thompson often boating across the Bay to home games during his 13 years with the franchise.

What’s at Stake?

There’s been conversation as to what the winner of the NBA Cup should receive, including a guaranteed playoff spot or home-court advantage, but the league has yet to go to those measures with incentivization.

Thus, the winner will get the honor of being the NBA Cup Champion and a banner to display in their home arena, just as the Lakers did in winning last year.

The Los Angeles Lakers pose as they celebrate their victory over the Indiana Pacers to win the championship game of the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament in Las Vegas on Dec. 9, 2023. Ethan Miller/Getty Images

There is also a financial reward, which could mean quite a lot to certain players on a roster. In the inaugural tournament, players on the championship-winning team received $500,000 each, while the runner-up got $200,000 per player. Those on teams that lost in the semis received $100,000, while those who lost in the quarterfinals made $50,000 each. There is expected to be a slight increase in all of those amounts for the 2024 NBA Cup payouts.

Additional honors include the All-NBA Cup Team, announced at the conclusion, as well as the 2024 NBA Cup MVP, with LeBron James winning the inaugural trophy a year ago.

Who Will Win?

We won’t find this out until Dec. 17 at T-Mobile Arenas in Las Vegas, but the betting favorite to win is also the favorite to win the NBA championship, and that’s the Boston Celtics.

However, the eventual 2023-24 NBA champion Celtics lost in the quarterfinals of last season’s in-season tournament despite also entering it as the favorite. The Lakers, who finished last year as the No. 8 seed in the West, won the inaugural NBA Cup despite having just the sixth-shortest odds entering the tournament.

Teams put different levels of emphasis on this tournament as some will go all out and treat the games as if they were playoff contests, while others will simply treat them as ordinary regular-season matchups, which they actually are.

However, judging from last year’s edition, the tournament did add a little extra spice to what can be a mundane regular season schedule, and the NBA is hoping that interest from fans, and especially players, remains for the second in-season tournament and the first NBA Cup.