Today the NBA Emirates Cup is set to begin, and with a little bit of a new format happening this year, today i will be explaining all the stages and everything you need to know about the 2024 Emirates Cup.

When will the Emirates Cup games be played?

The Emirates Cup is NBA’s second annual in-season competition. It tips off today, November 12th and the final day of group play will end on December 3rd. The quarter-finals will begin on December 10th and end the following day on the 11th. With the Semi-Finals taking place on December 14th and the Championship on December 17th. Every game of group play from now until December 3rd will take place on Tuesday’s and Friday’s which the NBA is calling cup nights. One game against each opponent in their group, with two games at home and two away.

On July 12th, the NBA released the random group draw results on which teams where in each groups. The NBA split them into the West and the East, with 5 teams in each group. The Divisions are named West A-C and East A-C. Below you can find the groups for all 30 NBA teams.

Teams were sorted into “pots” based on their 2023-24 regular season records before the drawing for the NBA In-Season Tournament. In each conference, one team from each pot was randomly assigned to each of the three groups. The pots were structured as follows:

• Pot 1: Top 3 teams

• Pot 2: Teams ranked 4th-6th

• Pot 3: Teams ranked 7th-9th

• Pot 4: Teams ranked 10th-12th

• Pot 5: Teams ranked 13th-15th

West A

Minnesota Timberwolves

Los Angeles Clippers

Sacramento Kings

Houston Rockets

Portland Trail Blazers

West B

Oklahoma City Thunder

Phoenix Suns

Los Angeles Lakers

Utah Jazz

San Antonio Spurs

West C

Denver Nuggets

Dallas Mavericks

New Orleans Pelicans

Golden State Warriors

Memphis Grizzlies

East A

New York Knicks

Orlando Magic

Philadelphia 76ers

Brooklyn Nets

Charlotte Hornets

East B

Minnesota Bucks

Indiana Pacers

Miami Heat

Toronto Raptors

Detroit Pistons

East C

Boston Celtics

Cleveland Cavaliers

Chicago Bulls

Atlanta Hawks

Washington Wizards

Group Play

Each team will play four Group Play games within its group, and the standings from these games will determine who advances to the Knockout Rounds. If teams are tied, tiebreakers will apply in this order: head-to-head record, point differential, total points scored, regular-season record, and a random drawing (if still tied). Overtime points won’t count toward point differential or total points.

Eight teams will reach the Knockout Rounds: the top team from each of the six groups and one wild card team per conference, chosen based on the best second-place record.

Knockout Rounds

Eight teams will move to the NBA In-Season Tournament Knockout Rounds: the top team from each of the six groups and two wild cards (the best second-place teams from each conference). The Knockout Rounds feature single-elimination games, starting with the Quarterfinals in NBA team markets on December 10 and 11. The Semifinals and Championship will take place in Las Vegas on December 14 and 17, where teams will compete for a prize pool and the NBA Cup championship trophy.

In each conference, the two teams with the best Group Play records will host the Quarterfinal games, with the top team playing the wild card. Tiebreakers will apply if needed to determine seeding.

On non-tournament days (Dec. 12-13 and Dec. 15-16), the 22 teams that don’t advance to the Knockout Rounds will each play two regular-season games. Matchups are based on Group Play standings, with most games staying within the same conference, except for two cross-conference games between lower-ranked teams. The Quarterfinal losers will play each other on these dates as well.

All games will count towards the regular season record, so these games will still mean something for these players.

The championship game will not be counted towards the regular season total but will be treated as a stand-alone championship game.

Fourteen games in group play will be nationally televised, two games on each cup night.

All seven games of the knockout round will be televised nationally as well.

What’s the incentive for winning and why should I watch?

The Emirates NBA Cup prize pool will be allocated to the players on the teams that participate in the Knockout Rounds, with allocations increasing depending on how far a team progresses in the tournament.  

At the conclusion of the Emirates NBA Cup, a media panel will select the Most Valuable Player of the competition and the All-Tournament Team. Selection will be based on the players’ performance in both Group Play and the Knockout Rounds

At the end of the day, you get a big chunk of money and also something to play for in the middle of the season that means something.