NBA Cup 2026 Explained: New Rules, Format Changes and How the Tournament Works

Welcome to the fourth edition of the NBA Cup.

Three teams—the Knicks, Bucks and Lakers—have hoisted the NBA Cup since the league’s inaugural in-season tournament in 2023. Last year, the Knicks became the first team in NBA history to win the NBA Cup and, six months later, the NBA Finals. This year, all 30 teams have a chance to add to their trophy cases during the regular season in a tournament that should come with a bit of extra hype and anticipation with the NBA’s slight tweaks this year.

Here is a comprehensive guide to the 2026 NBA Cup:

What’s new this year?

In this year’s NBA Cup, the biggest change the league is making is switching up the location for the semifinal and championship games. In the tournament’s first three years, the final two rounds were held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (home of the NHL’s Golden Knights). While an in-season tournament concluding on the Las Vegas Strip looks like a good idea on paper, those games lacked the buzz and attendance the NBA was aiming for while attempting to establish a new tradition. It’s difficult for most people to fathom spending money on travel for a tournament that has yet to truly resonate with fans.

In 2026, the NBA is pivoting the location of those final two rounds. The semifinals will be played at the home court of the higher-seeded team in each conference. That leaves only the championship game to be hosted at a neutral site—and this year it’s heading to the historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, home of the Butler Bulldogs. It’ll be a fun, intimate setting for the NBA Cup title game in a building with a capacity of 9,100 fans, less than half the size of T-Mobile Arena.

The higher seed hosting the semifinal games at its home arena should boost the enthusiasm for the NBA Cup. It’ll be a much better environment than playing in front of thousands of neutral fans in Las Vegas, and it will likely achieve one important thing: Getting the fans to really, really care.

THE KNICKS HAVE WON THE @emirates NBA CUP 🏆

THEY DEFEAT THE SPURS BEHIND A COMPLETE TEAM EFFORT IN VEGAS! pic.twitter.com/O1BdnnByXE
— NBA (@NBA) December 17, 2025

2026 NBA Cup format and schedule

The rest of the NBA Cup format will remain the same. Back in August, the NBA randomly split up all 30 teams into six groups of five—three groups per conference. The tournament will begin with the group play stage in which teams play one game apiece against each opponent in their group; two will be at home and two on the road. All group play games count toward a team’s regular-season record and stats.

Group play will begin Friday, Oct. 30 and wrap up on Friday, Nov. 27. Here are the six groups this season:

West Group A

Denver Nuggets
Houston Rockets
Phoenix Suns
Dallas Mavericks
Utah Jazz

West Group B

Oklahoma City Thunder
Minnesota Timberwolves
Los Angeles Clippers
New Orleans Pelicans
Memphis Grizzlies

West Group C

San Antonio Spurs
Los Angeles Lakers
Portland Trail Blazers
Golden State Warriors
Sacramento Kings

East Group A

Detroit Pistons
Toronto Raptors
Orlando Magic
Milwaukee Bucks
Brooklyn Nets

East Group B

New York Knicks
Cleveland Cavaliers
Philadelphia 76ers
Miami Heat
Indiana Pacers

East Group C

Boston Celtics
Atlanta Hawks
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Washington Wizards

The full list of group play dates:

Friday, Oct. 30
Friday, Nov. 6
Friday, Nov. 13
Friday, Nov. 20
Tuesday, Nov. 24
Wednesday, Nov. 25
Friday, Nov. 27

Quarterfinals

TBD vs. TBD—Friday, Dec. 4 at home court of higher-seeded team
TBD vs. TBD—Friday, Dec. 4 at home court of higher-seeded team
TBD vs. TBD—Saturday, Dec. 5 at home court of higher-seeded team
TBD vs. TBD—Saturday, Dec. 5 at home court of higher-seeded team

Semifinals

TBD vs. TBD—Tuesday, Dec. 8 at home court of higher-seeded team
TBD vs. TBD—Tuesday, Dec. 8 (or Wednesday, Dec. 9) at home court of higher-seeded team

Championship

TBD vs. TBD—Dec. 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, Ind.)

How teams make the 2026 NBA Cup bracket

After group play, eight teams advance to the single-elimination knockout round: the six group winners and one wild card from each conference. If there is a tie within a group, the seeds will be decided in this order:

Head-to-head record in group play
Point differential in group play
Total points scored in group play
Record from 2025-26 regular season
If two or more teams are still tied after the first four tiebreakers, a random drawing.

The two wild card teams will be decided by the three second-place finishers in each conference. If there is a tie, the wild cards will be decided by the tiebreakers listed above, minus the head-to-head record in group play.

The most important tiebreaker to pay attention to during NBA Cup games is point differential. A 20-point win is a lot more valuable than a one-point win. That’s why you’ll see teams continue to score down the stretch, even in blowouts. Note: This year, overtime games do not count toward a team’s NBA Cup point differential. If a game goes to overtime, the point differential for both squads will be zero.

The quarterfinals and semifinals will be played at the home arena of the better seed, and the championship game will be decided Dec. 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. All knockout round games will count toward a team’s regular season record and stats aside from the championship.

Here’s a look at the bracket format:

The 2026 NBA Cup bracket. | Sports Illustrated

What happens to teams that don’t make the knockout rounds?

For the remaining 22 teams, they will play two games at some point on these dates: Dec. 6, 7, 9 or 10. Two of the 22 games will be between cross-conference foes. The other 20 games will be between intraconference opponents that are scheduled to play each other three times over the year.

The teams who lose in the quarterfinals will play each other in a regular-season game on Dec. 7, 9 or 10.

How much do players make for winning the NBA Cup?

The exact winnings in 2026 have yet to be announced, but here’s what players took home from the 2025 NBA Cup:

Reach quarterfinal game: $53,093
Reach semifinal game: $106,187
Reach championship game: $212,373
Win NBA Cup championship: $530,933

Head coaches earned the same amount as players, while assistants got a smaller slice of the pie. Additionally, the three two-way contract players on each roster collected 50% of the potential earnings for each round.

Which teams have previously won the NBA Cup?

2023 NBA Cup

Winner: Lakers | Runner-up: Pacers

In fitting fashion, the first NBA Cup (then dubbed the in-season tournament) was won by LeBron James and the Lakers. Los Angeles, the No. 1 seed in the West, took down the No. 4 Suns and No. 3 Pelicans in the quarterfinals and semifinals.

In the title game, Anthony Davis scored 41 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in the Lakers’ 123–109 win over Indiana. LeBron James was named MVP.

2024 NBA Cup

Winner: Bucks | Runner-up: Thunder

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks defeated the Thunder 97–81 in the 2024 NBA Cup title game. Milwaukee was a No. 1 seed in the bracket and defeated the No. 4 Magic, 114–109, and the No. 3 Hawks, 110–102, to punch its ticket to the championship. The “Greek Freak” was named MVP.

The Thunder became the second wild-card team to make the NBA Cup championship.

2025 NBA Cup

Winner: Knicks | Runner-up: Spurs

The Knicks’ miraculous championship run all started by hoisting the NBA Cup in December. Funny enough, New York beat the Spurs—the team it’d go on to defeat in five games in the 2026 NBA Finals—124–113 in the championship in Las Vegas to become the third team to hoist the NBA Cup.

The Knicks were a No. 3 seed in the knockout rounds and defeated the No. 2 Raptors and No. 1 Magic on their way to the title game. Jalen Brunson was named MVP.

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