NBA Cup 2024: How does it work, schedule, format, bracket, odds, location for NBA’s in-season tournament

The NBA Cup is back — the specialized courts, the Statement Edition uniforms, the fretting over point differential (and a few teams running up the score), and eventually a champion crowned in Las Vegas.

After a successful first season, the NBA’s in-season tournament returns, rebranded as the NBA Cup. It tips off Tuesday night and runs every Tuesday and Friday into December. Here is everything you need to know about the NBA Cup 2024.

What’s the format for the NBA Cup 2024?

All 30 NBA teams were drawn into six groups of five teams each (three East and three West). Each team plays the other teams in its group once — four total games, and those games count double as both regular season games and NBA Cup games. Fans will know these are NBA Cup games because they are played on uniquely designed courts with the home team wearing their Statement Edition uniforms — these games stand out from other regular season games.

The six group winners plus a wild card from each conference — determined by head-to-head record and point differential, which is why fans may see some teams run up the score — go into the eight-team knockout round bracket (East vs. East, West vs. West until the NBA Cup Finals). The knockout round games are single-elimination.

The final four teams left standing head to Las Vegas for the NBA Cup championship rounds on December 14 and 17.

What are the groups for the NBA Cup 2024?

Here’s a look at the NBA Cup 2024 groups (with some analysis at the end).

EASTERN CONFERENCE

East Group A: New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets
East Group B: Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons
East Group C: Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards
Analysis: Group C drew the only two teams in the East playing well to start the season in Boston and Cleveland, and it’s easy to see one winning the group and the other as the wild card. New York might be the healthiest team in Group A (but Brooklyn has been feisty this season). The NBA Cup provides a chance for the Bucks, Pacers and Heat to turn their disappointing starts to the season, making Group B interesting.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

West Group A: Minnesota Timberwolves. LA Clippers. Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers
West Group B: Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs
West Group C: Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies
Analysis: West Group C is the “group of death” — the Nuggets, Mavericks, Warriors and Grizzlies are all playing well. Injuries are casting a pall over this group (as they are the start of the NBA season) as New Orleans and Memphis will be without key players (Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, CJ McCollum, Desmond Bane) for at least some of the cup games. It’s going to be a challenge for the defending cup champion Lakers to get out of their group with hot teams in Oklahoma City (now without Chet Holmgren) and Phoenix (now without Kevin Durant) ahead of them.

What’s the schedule for the NBA Cup 2024?

Here is the full schedule for the NBA Cup 2024 (All times Eastern):
Tuesday, Nov. 12:
Miami Heat at Detroit Pistons, 7 p.m.
Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics, 7 p.m.
Charlotte Hornets at Orlando Magic, 7 p.m.
New York Knicks at Philadelphia 76ers, 7:30 p.m.
Toronto Raptors at Milwaukee Bucks, 8 p.m.
Phoenix Suns at Utah Jazz, 9 p.m.
Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors, 10 p.m.
Minnesota Timberwolves at Portland Trail Blazers, 10 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 15:
Philadelphia 76ers at Orlando Magic, 7 p.m.
Detroit Pistons at Toronto Raptors, 7 p.m.
Miami Heat at Indiana Pacers, 7 p.m.
Los Angeles Lakers at San Antonio Spurs, 7:30 p.m.
Washington Wizards at Atlanta Hawks, 7:30 p.m.
Brooklyn Nets at New York Knicks, 7:30 p.m.
Chicago Bulls at Cleveland Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m.
Denver Nuggets at New Orleans Pelicans, 8 p.m.
Phoenix Suns at Oklahoma City Thunder, 8 p.m.
Los Angeles Clippers at Houston Rockets, 8 p.m.
Minnesota Timberwolves at Sacramento Kings, 10 p.m.
Memphis Grizzlies at Golden State Warriors, 10 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 19:
Cleveland Cavaliers at Boston Celtics, 7 p.m.
Charlotte Hornets at Brooklyn Nets, 7:30 p.m.
Denver Nuggets at Memphis Grizzlies, 8 p.m.
New Orleans Pelicans at Dallas Mavericks, 8:30 p.m.
Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs, 9:30 p.m.=
Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Lakers, 10:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 22:
Brooklyn Nets at Philadelphia 76ers, 7 p.m.
Boston Celtics at Washington Wizards, 7 p.m.
Indiana Pacers at Milwaukee Bucks, 7:30 p.m.
Portland Trail Blazers at Houston Rockets, 8 p.m.
Golden State Warriors at New Orleans Pelicans, 8 p.m.
Atlanta Hawks at Chicago Bulls, 8 p.m.
Dallas Mavericks at Denver Nuggets, 10 p.m.
Sacramento Kings at Los Angeles Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 26:
Chicago Bulls at Washington Wizards, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee Bucks at Miami Heat, 7:30 p.m.
Houston Rockets at Minnesota Timberwolves, 8 p.m.
San Antonio Spurs at Utah Jazz, 9 p.m.
Los Angeles Lakers at Phoenix Suns, 10 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 29:
New York Knicks at Charlotte Hornets, 12 p.m.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks, 2:30 p.m.
New Orleans Pelicans at Memphis Grizzlies, 5 p.m.
Orlando Magic at Brooklyn Nets, 7:30 p.m.
Los Angeles Clippers at Minnesota Timberwolves, 7:30 p.m.
Boston Celtics at Chicago Bulls, 8 p.m.
Toronto Raptors at Miami Heat, 8 p.m.
Detroit Pistons at Indiana Pacers, 8 p.m.
Oklahoma City Thunder at Los Angeles Lakers, 10 p.m.
Sacramento Kings at Portland Trail Blazers, 10 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 3:
Philadelphia 76ers at Charlotte Hornets, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee Bucks at Detroit Pistons, 7 p.m.
Washington Wizards at Cleveland Cavaliers, 7 p.m.
Orlando Magic at New York Knicks, 7:30 p.m.
Indiana Pacers at Toronto Raptors, 7:30 p.m.
Utah Jazz at Oklahoma City Thunder, 8 p.m.
Memphis Grizzlies at Dallas Mavericks, 8:30 p.m.
San Antonio Spurs at Phoenix Suns, 9 p.m.
Houston Rockets at Sacramento Kings, 10 p.m.
Golden State Warriors at Denver Nuggets, 10 p.m.
Portland Trail Blazers at Los Angeles Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

The six group winners plus two wild cards (one from each conference) advance to the knockout round, with the quarterfinals on Dec. 10 and 11. Then the show moves to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for the NBA Cup final four, with the semifinals on Dec. 14 and the finals on Dec. 17.

NBA In Season Tournament 2024 odds

Here are the odds for the top 10 (well, 11 because of a tie) teams to win the NBA Cup 2024, via our partners at Bet MGM:

Boston Celtics (+400)
New York Knicks (+800)
Cleveland Cavaliers (+1100)
Oklahoma City Thunder (+1200)
Minnesota Timberwolves (+1200)
Denver Nuggets (+1200)
Dallas Mavericks (+1400)
Los Angeles Lakers (+1400)
Milwaukee Bucks (+2000)
Philadephia 76ers (+2000)

Who won the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament?

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers won the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament (before it was officially branded as the NBA Cup).

Los Angeles went 4-0 in group play (beating the Suns, Jazz, Grizzlies and Trail Blazers) then had little problem in Las Vegas dispatching first Zion Williamson and the Pelicans, then in the Finals Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers.

What does the winner of the in-season tournament get?

Money. Players on teams that advance out of the group stage get bonuses from a league-sponsored prize pool, with the teams that advance further getting more.

Each player on the championship team will receive $500,000.

Each player on the losing team in the NBA Cup Finals receives $200,000. Players from the two teams that advanced to the final four in Las Vegas but lost in the semifinals will each receive $100,000. Players on teams that advanced out of group play but lost in the quarterfinals will get $50,000 each.

While even the championship money is about another game check for a star such as LeBron James or Stephen Curry, it can be a meaningful bump for players on minimum salaries at the end of the bench.

Where is the NBA Cup 2024 Finals being held?

The NBA Cup 2024 Finals will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Dec. 17. The game will be broadcast on TNT.

What is the point of the NBA Cup?

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver pushed hard for the NBA Cup to become a reality for a few reasons.

One, he wanted another trophy for teams and fan bases to cheer for, something to combat the “championship or bust” mentality of some fans. Based on the European soccer model, the idea was to have a second trophy of value — not as important as an NBA Title, but with merit — for teams to compete for.

Second was Silver’s hope to put some added meaning and energy on a group of regular season games. Silver is understandably bothered by top teams treating the lengthy 82-game NBA regular season as something they had to get through to get to the “real season” of the playoffs. Fans have picked up on teams devaluing the regular season, and that’s a flawed business model. Last season, this idea worked to a degree.

Last but not least is the almighty dollar. The initial NBA in-season tournament showed increased interest from fans and solid ratings — boosted by having LeBron and the Lakers in the Finals — which allowed the league to sell the NBA Cup as an enhancement in its new NBA television rights deal. NBC Sports will broadcast Tuesday night NBA Cup games and ESPN some Friday night games next season, while Amazon Prime will stream a Black Friday NBA game and all of the knockout rounds of the NBA Cup, including the semifinals and Finals from Las Vegas. That’s extra dollars in owners’ and players’ pockets.