2026 NBA Cup: Schedule, format, groups, updates and more

August 12, 2026·8 min read·Updated 23 hours ago

Aug 12, 2026, 12:22 PM ET

Which two teams will face off inside Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for the 2026 Emirates NBA Cup?

On Wednesday, the league unveiled the full group stage schedule for this year's in-season tournament, with action taking place every Friday from Oct. 30 to Nov. 27 and on special Cup nights during Thanksgiving week (Nov. 24-25).

After the New York Knicks became the first team to win the NBA Cup and NBA Finals in the same season, can Jalen Brunson & Co. keep their championship run going? They'll have plenty of competition, specifically within the star-studded East Group B.

Here's what you need to know about the in-season tournament, now in its fourth year.

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Schedule | Groups | FAQ

2026 Emirates NBA Cup schedule

Group Play

Oct. 30

Charlotte Hornets at Washington Wizards, 7 p.m. ET
Chicago Bulls at Boston Celtics, 7:30 p.m. ET
Detroit Pistons at Brooklyn Nets, 7:30 p.m. ET
New York Knicks at Philadelphia 76ers, 7:30 p.m. ET (Prime)
Orlando Magic at Toronto Raptors, 7:30 p.m. ET
Indiana Pacers at Miami Heat, 8 p.m. ET
Houston Rockets at Dallas Mavericks, 8 p.m. ET
LA Clippers at Minnesota Timberwolves, 8 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors, 10 p.m. ET (Prime)
Denver Nuggets at Phoenix Suns, 10 p.m. ET

Nov. 6

Washington Wizards at Atlanta Hawks, 7 p.m. ET
Boston Celtics at Charlotte Hornets, 7 p.m. ET
Philadelphia 76ers at Cleveland Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m. ET (Prime)
Utah Jazz at Dallas Mavericks, 8 p.m. ET
Oklahoma City Thunder at Memphis Grizzlies, 8 p.m. ET
Toronto Raptors at Milwaukee Bucks, 8 p.m. ET
Minnesota Timberwolves at New Orleans Pelicans, 8 p.m. ET
Portland Trail Blazers at Los Angeles Lakers, 10 p.m. ET (Prime)
San Antonio Spurs at Sacramento Kings, 10 p.m. ET

Nov. 13

New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers, 7 p.m. ET (Prime)
Milwaukee Bucks at Orlando Magic, 7 p.m. ET
Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat, 8 p.m. ET
Atlanta Hawks at Chicago Bulls, 8 p.m. ET
Memphis Grizzlies at New Orleans Pelicans, 8 p.m. ET
Utah Jazz at Houston Rockets, 8:30 p.m. ET
Golden State Warriors at San Antonio Spurs, 9:30 p.m. ET (Prime)
Portland Trail Blazers at Sacramento Kings, 10 p.m. ET
Oklahoma City Thunder at LA Clippers, 10:30 p.m. ET

Nov. 20

Charlotte Hornets at Atlanta Hawks, 7 p.m. ET
Orlando Magic at Brooklyn Nets, 7:30 p.m. ET
Indiana Pacers at Cleveland Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m. ET
Toronto Raptors at Detroit Pistons, 7:30 p.m. ET (Prime)
Washington Wizards at Chicago Bulls, 8 p.m. ET
New Orleans Pelicans at Oklahoma City Thunder, 8 p.m. ET
Phoenix Suns at Utah Jazz, 9:30 p.m. ET
Houston Rockets at Denver Nuggets, 10 p.m. ET (Prime)
Sacramento Kings at Los Angeles Lakers, 10 p.m. ET

Nov. 24

Detroit Pistons at Orlando Magic, 7 p.m. ET
Boston Celtics at Washington Wizards, 8 p.m. ET (NBC)
Dallas Mavericks at Denver Nuggets, 10 p.m. ET (NBC)

Nov. 25

Miami Heat at Philadelphia 76ers, 5 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Chicago Bulls at Charlotte Hornets, 7 p.m. ET
Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks, 7:30 p.m. ET
Minnesota Timberwolves at Oklahoma City Thunder, 7:30 p.m. ET
LA Clippers at Memphis Grizzlies, 8 p.m. ET
Brooklyn Nets at Milwaukee Bucks, 8 p.m. ET
Phoenix Suns at Houston Rockets, 8:30 p.m. ET
Sacramento Kings at Golden State Warriors, 10 p.m. ET
San Antonio Spurs at Portland Trail Blazers, 10 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Nov. 27

Miami Heat at New York Knicks, 7 p.m. ET (Prime)
Milwaukee Bucks at Detroit Pistons, 7:30 p.m. ET
Philadelphia 76ers at Indiana Pacers, 7:30 p.m. ET
Brooklyn Nets at Toronto Raptors, 7:30 p.m. ET
Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics, 8 p.m. ET
Memphis Grizzlies at Minnesota Timberwolves, 8:30 p.m. ET
Dallas Mavericks at Phoenix Suns, 9 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Lakers at San Antonio Spurs, 9:30 p.m. ET (Prime)
Denver Nuggets at Utah Jazz, 9:30 p.m. ET
New Orleans Pelicans at LA Clippers, 9:30 p.m. ET
Golden State Warriors at Portland Trail Blazers, 9:30 p.m. ET

Knockout rounds

Dec. 4-5: Quarterfinals
Dec. 8 and/or Dec. 9: Semifinals
Dec. 11: Championship

NBA Cup FAQ: Everything to know

What is the format?

NBA commissioner Adam Silver has had a longstanding fascination with European soccer. Establishing an in-season cup competition within the NBA schedule came from soccer leagues having both a regular-season title, won by the team with the most points over the full year, and a separate tournament (or, in some leagues, multiple tournaments) that runs concurrently with the league season.

In England, for example, there are the various divisions -- led by the Premier League -- and also the FA Cup competition. But unlike those European leagues, which play their cup competitions outside of their league schedules, the NBA Cup is built in to the regular-season slate.

The 30 NBA teams are split into six five-team groups -- three featuring Eastern Conference teams and three comprising Western Conference teams -- with each team then playing one game against the other four in its group. The winner of each group, plus the team with the best record among the non-group winners, advances to the knockout stage of the competition.

How will this impact the regular-season schedule and standings?

Typically, the NBA sends out a full 82-game schedule in mid-August. Now, the league sends out only 80 games and leaves a gap of roughly a week to fill in later, depending on how the group stage of the NBA Cup plays out.

The two teams from the East and West that lose in the quarterfinals will play their 82nd game against each other. Meanwhile, the 22 teams that fail to qualify for the knockout rounds will have their final two games scheduled -- one at home and one on the road against others eliminated in the group stage.

The teams that reach the NBA Cup final will actually play 83 games -- though the championship game won't count toward the standings or any statistical markers. The four teams that reach the semifinals will have completed their 82 games and won't need any other games added to their schedule.

Any team that makes it to the semifinals will have that game moved later in the schedule to avoid back-to-back games. The NBA made this change in an effort to avoid having empty days on the calendar while attempting to minimize back-to-backs for all teams as much as possible.

Where are the semifinals and final being played?

In a shift from previous tournaments, the quarterfinals and semifinals will be played at home sites. The Dec. 11 title game, meanwhile, will move from Las Vegas to the storied Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. NBA commissioner Adam Silver previously said the league was searching for "storied college arenas" to play host to the Cup final. (No venue has been announced for 2027.)

Why does the NBA Cup include regular-season games?

Before its launch, one of the main questions surrounding the in-season tournament was why any team would be incentivized to compete in it. The NBA ensured teams will be motivated by making every game part of the season and, as in-conference matchups, potentially important to playoff tiebreakers. If this had been set up like the cup tournaments in European soccer, there would have been nothing stopping NBA teams from opting out by sitting their top players for extra rest.

Which teams make up the groups?

To create the groups, the NBA put the 15 teams in each conference into five pots, separated by their finish last season. Pot 1 included the teams that finished in the top three in the regular-season standings, Nos. 4-6 in the standings went into Pot 2, Nos. 7-9 into Pot 3, Nos. 10-12 into Pot 4 and Nos. 13-15 into Pot 5. As a result, the following groups were drawn:

East Group A

East Group B

East Group C

West Group A

West Group B

West Group C

Does one group stand out the most from the others?

East Group B is a monster.

All five teams -- defending NBA Cup and Finals champion New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Miami and Indiana -- are among the favorites to win the conference in 2026-27. The group stage will also feature reunion games for LeBron James, when the 76ers face the Cavs and Heat. And after guard Tyrese Haliburton missed the entire 2025-26 season while rehabbing a torn Achilles, the Pacers will be back among the East elite and hungry to reach the title game in Indianapolis.

What do players get for winning?

In 2023, the first year the tournament was held, the players on the winning team received $500,000 each and the runners-up got $200,000. The losing players of the semifinals each got $100,000, and those ousted in the quarterfinals got $50,000. Now, in each subsequent year, the prizes will be slightly higher, as a result of negotiated raises year over year to keep pace with increases in the salary cap and basketball-related income as part of the most recent collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association.

Will anyone earn individual honors for their play in NBA Cup games?

There will be an MVP award, as well as an all-tournament team.

Will this have any impact on the playoffs?

Not beyond the games counting in the regular-season standings (and toward tiebreakers). The only playoff impact comes from the wins and losses accrued throughout the tournament. Though there was debate among league insiders about guaranteeing a playoff berth for winning the tournament, ultimately that idea (or any other to further incentivize teams) was not enacted.

Why is it called the Emirates NBA Cup?

The league struck a sponsorship deal with Emirates, the Dubai-based airline, to sponsor the tournament after its initial run. The NBA said last year that it went with the most basic titles for both the tournament and its trophy -- the "in-season tournament" and "NBA Cup" -- as a way to introduce the concept to fans. However, using such nondescript names had another clear advantage: It gave the league a blank slate in case it sold the naming rights for the tournament and cup to a sponsor and avoided the complications that could arise by naming them after someone (for example, late NBA commissioner David Stern, one possibility that had been floated before the tournament was officially unveiled).