2025 Emirates NBA Cup Overview: The NBA Cup is the NBA’s annual in-season tournament, formerly known as the NBA In-Season Tournament. All 30 NBA teams compete in the tournament across a group stage and a knockout stage, with the winner claiming the NBA Cup. All games count towards the regular season standings.
The NBA Cup was the league’s response to fan complaints that the regular season doesn’t carry enough excitement or weight until the very end, during the NBA Playoffs. And the league took that feedback to heart.
Now entering its third year, the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup begins just 10 days into the regular season and delivers instant excitement, with all 30 teams competing for the coveted NBA Cup trophy and a pile of cash. Colorful court designs give each game a unique feel, and the win-or-go home tenacity of each team playing for the cash prize at end combine to create an atmosphere similar to the NBA Playoffs.
Here’s how the NBA Cup works and some of the key dates to pay attention to as the event kicks off on Oct. 31, 2025.
You can watch the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup & NBA games all season long on DIRECTV! Sign up today.
How does the NBA Cup work?
The Emirates NBA Cup is an in-season tournament composed of four rounds: Group Play, the Knockout Rounds, the Semifinals and the Final. The format is similar to an international soccer tournament like the FIFA World Cup, in many ways.
Group Play
In Group Play, all 30 teams are divided into six groups of five teams each. Each team in a group plays the others once, and the team with the best record after those games wins the group and move onto the Knockout Stage. Two ‘wild card” winners, determined by the next best team by point differential, also advance.
With Group Play, 30 teams get whittled down to eight.
Knockout Rounds
In the Knockout Rounds, the eight remaining teams compete in single-game elimination matchups. You win, you move on. You lose, you’re going home.
Semifinals
The final four teams head to Las Vegas for the last two rounds of the tournament. The Semifinals are also single-game elimination.
Finals
The winner-take-all-championship on Dec. 16 will pit the last two teams standing against one another for the Emirates NBA Cup.
NBA Cup Schedule
The NBA Cup kicks off on Oct. 31 and culminates with the NBA Cup Finals on Dec. 16. Spread out over the course of six weeks, here are the key dates to keep an eye on.
Group Play Schedule & Results
Friday, October 31
- Atlanta Hawks (128) at Indiana Pacers (108)
- Boston Celtics (109) at Philadelphia 76ers (108)
- Toronto Raptors (112) at Cleveland Cavaliers (101)
- New York Knicks (125) at Chicago Bulls (135)
- Los Angeles Lakers (117) at Memphis Grizzlies (112)
- Utah Jazz (96) at Phoenix Suns (118)
- Denver Nuggets (107) at Portland Trail Blazers (109)
- New Orleans Pelicans (124) at LA Clippers (126)
Friday, November 7
- Boston Celtics (110) at Orlando Magic (123)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (148) at Washington Wizards (115)
- Toronto Raptors (109) at Atlanta Hawks (97)
- Detroit Pistons (125) at Brooklyn Nets (107)
- Houston Rockets (110) at San Antonio Spurs (121)
- Charlotte Hornets (108) at Miami Heat (126)
- Dallas Mavericks (104) at Memphis Grizzlies (118)
- Chicago Bulls (110) at Milwaukee Bucks (126)
- Utah Jazz (97) at Minnesota Timberwolves (137)
- Golden State Warriors (104) at Denver Nuggets (129)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (132) at Sacramento Kings (101)
Friday, November 14th
- Miami Heat (132) at New York Knicks (140)
- Brooklyn Nets (98) at Orlando Magic (105)
- Philadelphia 76ers (105) at Detroit Pistons (114)
- Portland Trail Blazers (116) at Houston Rockets (140)
- Charlotte Hornets (134) at Milwaukee Bucks (147)
- Sacramento Kings (110) at Minnesota Timberwolves (124)
- Los Angeles Lakers (118) at New Orleans Pelicans (104)
- LA Clippers (133) at Dallas Mavericks (127)
- Golden State Warriors (109) at San Antonio Spurs (108)
Friday, November 21st
- Indiana Pacers (109) at Cleveland Cavaliers (120)
- Brooklyn Nets (113) at Boston Celtics (105)
- Washington Wizards (110) at Toronto Raptors (140)
- Miami Heat (143) at Chicago Bulls (107)
- New Orleans Pelicans (115) at Dallas Mavericks (118)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (113) at Phoenix Suns (114)
- Denver Nuggets (112) at Houston Rockets (109)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (144) at Utah Jazz (112)
- Portland Trail Blazers (127) at Golden State Warriors (123)
Tuesday, November 25th
- Atlanta Hawks (113) at Washington Wizards (132)
- Orlando Magic (144) at Philadelphia 76ers (103)
- LA Clippers (118) at Los Angeles Lakers (135)
Wednesday, November 26th
- Detroit Pistons (114) at Boston Celtics (117)
- New York Knicks (129) at Charlotte Hornets (101)
- Milwaukee Bucks (103) at Miami Heat (106)
- Indiana Pacers (95) at Toronto Raptors (97)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (105) at Oklahoma City Thunder (113)
- Memphis Grizzlies (133) at New Orleans Pelicans (128)
- Houston Rockets (104) at Golden State Warriors (100)
- San Antonio Spurs (115) at Portland Trail Blazers (102)
- Phoenix Suns (112) at Sacramento Kings (100)
Friday, November 28th
- Cleveland Cavaliers (123) at Atlanta Hawks (130)
- Philadelphia 76ers (115) at Brooklyn Nets (103)
- Chicago Bulls (116) at Charlotte Hornets (123)
- Orlando Magic (112) at Detroit Pistons (109)
- Washington Wizards (86) at Indiana Pacers (119)
- Milwaukee Bucks (109) at New York Knicks (118)
- Phoenix Suns (119) at Oklahoma City Thunder (123)
- San Antonio Spurs (139) at Denver Nuggets (136)
- Sacramento Kings (119) at Utah Jazz (128)
- Dallas Mavericks (119) at Los Angeles Lakers (129)
- Memphis Grizzlies (112) at LA Clippers (107)
Group Play Results:
- Eastern Conference Group A Winner: Toronto Raptors (4-0)
- Eastern Conference Group B Winner: Orlando Magic (4-0)
- Eastern Conference Group C Winner: New York Knicks (3-1)
- Western Conference Group A Winner: Oklahoma City Thunder (4-0)
- Western Conference Group B Winner: Los Angeles Lakers (4-0)
- Western Conference Group C Winner: San Antonio Spurs (3-1)
- Wild Cards: Miami Heat (3-1) & Phoenix Suns (3-1)
Knockout Rounds
The Knockout Rounds will feature four games on December 9 and December 10. Teams and times will be determined by the results of the Group Play stage.
All games from here on out will be available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
- Miami Heat at Orlando Magic on Tuesday, Dec. 9 @ 6 p.m. ET on Prime Video
- New York Knicks at Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, Dec. 9 @ 8:30 p.m. ET on Prime Video
- Phoenix Suns at Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, Dec. 10 @ 7:30 p.m. ET on Prime Video
- San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, Dec. 10 @ 10 p.m. ET on Prime Video
Semifinals
The final four teams compete in the Semifinals on December 13, 2025.
Emirates NBA Cup Final
The Emirates NBA Cup Final will be held on December 16, 2025.
NBA Cup Groups
The 30 NBA teams are divided into six group of five teams each, three in the Western Conference and three in the Eastern Conference.
Western Conference
West Group A
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Sacramento Kings
- Phoenix Suns
- Utah Jazz
West Group B
- Los Angeles Lakers
- LA Clippers
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Dallas Mavericks
- New Orleans Pelicans
West Group C
- Houston Rockets
- Denver Nuggets
- Golden State Warriors
- Portland Trail Blazers
- San Antonio Spurs
Eastern Conference
East Group A
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Indiana Pacers
- Atlanta Hawks
- Toronto Raptors
- Washington Wizards
East Group B
- Boston Celtics
- Detroit Pistons
- Orlando Magic
- Brooklyn Nets
- Philadelphia 76ers
East Group C
- New York Knicks
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Chicago Bulls
- Miami Heat
- Charlotte Hornets
Who Won the Last Two NBA Cups?
The Milwaukee Bucks won the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup, while the Los Angeles Lakers won the first-ever in-season tournament in 2023.
Watch NBA Basketball on DIRECTV
You can watch every moment of the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup, and plenty of other NBA basketball games every day during the 2025 NBA season, with DIRECTV. Don’t have DIRECTV yet? Sign up today!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do NBA Cup games count towards the regular season?
All games except for the NBA Cup championship game count towards a team's regular season record.
Where can I watch NBA Cup games?
The 2025 Emirates NBA Cup will air on NBA TV, ESPN and NBC and the streaming services Amazon Prime Video and Peacock. Some games will also air on the team's regional sports network.
How to watch the In Season Tournament?
You can watch In Season Tournament games on ESPN, TNT, NBA TV and NBA League Pass. You can watch local teams play on your designated Regional Sports Network.
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