Tipping Off The 1st NBA Cup 🏆

11/03/2023

By: Jeff Yoder

Everything to Know About the NBA’s New In-Season Tournament That Tips Off Tonight (7 Games)

These 82-game seasons are a long and arduous road to the playoffs for the NBA players and fans. It’s always made the early-season games not mean as much. But always-inventive and never-routine commissioner Adam Silver won’t stop evolving, and that could be good news for viewers like us. This year’s first trial run of the NBA Cup, an in-season tournament aimed at spicing up the first half of the season, is about to begin. The tourney mimics the format of many professional soccer schedules, incorporating games that count towards the tourney standings and format, as well as overall standings for the traditional playoffs in the spring. And it starts tonight. Here’s what you need to know about the first-ever NBA Cup.

How It Works

All 30 teams have been divided into three groups during a drawing that took place in the offseason.
Qualifying games will be played on Tuesdays and Fridays between today (Nov. 3) and Nov. 28.
Each team will host games on their city edition courts while wearing their new city edition uniforms.
The winner of each group (three from each conference) plus one wild card from each conference will advance to the quarterfinals (Round of 8: Knockout Round) beginning in December.
The NBA Cup Finals game will not count as one of the 82 games. All others will.
The last team standing will be the first NBA Cup champion.

Group Draw

Western Conference

Group A: Lakers, Suns, Jazz, Grizzlies, Blazers
Group B: Nuggets, Clippers, Pelicans, Rockets, Mavericks
Group C: Kings, Warriors, T-Wolves, Spurs, Thunder

Eastern Conference

Group A: 76ers, Cavs, Hawks, Pacers, Pistons
Group B: Bucks, Knicks, Heat, Wizards, Hornets
Group C: Nets, Celtics, Bulls, Raptors, Magic

Financial Incentive: So it’s not just bragging rights? All teams that reach the knockout stage will earn some cash, with player payments ranging from $50,000 to $200,000. The winning team’s payout is reportedly $500,000 per player. You read that right: half a million. A lot of star players feel extra incentive to win it as a way to help benefit the end-of-the-bench players who don’t make millions. “I would love that,” said Damian Lillard this week. “To be able to say, ‘We looked out for our guys.’”

The first-ever NBA Cup is about to tip. We might look back in the years to come and wonder how we ever did the regular season grind without it. Time will tell.

NBA Cup Game Schedule (Tonight)

Cavaliers at Pacers (7 pm ET, League Pass)

Knicks at Bucks (7:30 pm ET, ESPN)

Warriors at Thunder (8 pm ET, League Pass)

Nets at Bulls (8 pm ET, League Pass)

Wizards at Heat (8 pm ET, League Pass)

Grizzlies at Blazers (10 pm ET, League Pass)

Mavericks at Nuggets (10 pm ET, ESPN)

AP: The NBA’s In-Season Tournament is Finally Set to Begin, Giving Teams Another Trophy Shot

Image From NBA.com