The NBA Cup is set to run from December 9 to December 16, with the semifinals and final taking place in Las Vegas. The knockout round features eight teams: the Orlando Magic, New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, and Toronto Raptors from the East, and the Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, and San Antonio Spurs from the West. These matchups will decide who earns a trip to Vegas, where the last three games of the tournament will be played.
The NBA Cup is the league’s new mid-season tournament, created to bring more competitive action into the early part of the schedule. Tournament games are built into the normal NBA calendar, so nothing gets delayed or paused. Teams play their usual opponents, but certain matchups are marked as Cup games, and those results determine who advances.
One thing that’s important to note is that the NBA Cup does not disrupt the ongoing season. All games in the tournament count toward the regular-season standings except the final, so teams don’t lose anything by participating. The structure keeps the season moving normally while still giving players and teams something extra to compete for.
The tournament itself doesn’t last long. The knockout stage spans just one week, with quarterfinals on December 9–10, semifinals on December 13, and the championship game on December 16. Once the trophy is handed out in Vegas, the league continues straight into the regular schedule without any break.
