What Timberwolves Fans Need to Know About NBA Cup Schedule, Results, History and More

The Timberwolves will have a little extra to play for on Friday, as their NBA Cup run kicks off with their first group-play game against the Clippers. Every contest is important for Minnesota right now as it figures out life without Anthony Edwards, and the slightly more stressful environment of the NBA Cup could help expedite that process.

Here's everything fans should know about the Wolves in the NBA Cup, including their past history and a results tracker for 2026.

Timberwolves 2026 NBA Cup group, opponents and bracket

The Timberwolves were placed in West Group B for the 2026 NBA Cup, one of three (A, B, C) for the event. The Thunder, Pelicans, Clippers and Grizzlies all join the Timberwolves in Group B. Minnesota will face each of those teams once, with two on the road and two at home, between Oct. 30 and Nov. 27.

The winner of West Group B (based on record once those four games are over) heads to the quarterfinals. The second-place finisher in Group B could also make the NBA Cup playoffs, but they will need to have the best mark among all three second-place teams to do so.

You'll find a snippet of the West bracket from the 2025 NBA Cup below. The quarterfinals feature the top four teams from each conference based on group play seeded 1-4.

The quarterfinals of the 2026 NBA Cup are set for Dec. 4-5, followed by the semis on Dec. 8 and/or Dec. 9. The NBA Cup Championship is happening Dec. 11 and will be played at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Timberwolves 2026 NBA Cup schedule and results tracker

The Timberwolves face the Clippers on Oct. 30 in Minneapolis for their first 2026 NBA Cup group play game. Then they go on the road to play the Pelicans on Nov. 6 and the Thunder (ESPN) on Nov. 25, before finishing at home against the Grizzlies on Nov. 27.

Date	Time	Timberwolves' opponent	Venue	Result
Oct. 30	7 p.m. CT	Clippers	Target Center	TBD
Nov. 6	7 p.m. CT	Pelicans	Smoothie King Center	TBD
Nov. 25	6:30 p.m. CT	Thunder	Paycom Center	TBD
Nov. 27	7:30 p.m. CT	Grizzlies	Target Center	TBD

Timberwolves NBA Cup history, past records

The Timberwolves have an all-time NBA Cup record of 7-5 during the group stage. They've never made it to the knockout playoff stage. They did finish in second place in 2023 with a 3-1 record, but did not make it in as the wild card despite being tied with the 3-1 Suns due to the point-differential tiebreaker.

Year	Group play record	Won NBA cup group?	Made NBA Cup playoffs?	NBA Cup playoffs result
2023	3-1	No	No	Did not qualify
2024	2-2	No	No	Did not qualify
2025	2-2	No	No	Did not qualify
2026	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Timberwolves 2026 NBA Cup storylines to watch

The NBA Cup is an opportunity for LaMelo Ball to get a trial run leading the Timberwolves with some stakes on the line. That makes this event notable, as Ball will hopefully have a similar role come April when it's the playoffs.

The alluring point guard also struggled mightily in his first game without Edwards since the trade that brought him here, so it's worth seeing how he fares over the next month while juggling the Cup and being the new No. 1 option.

Matchups with the floundering 1-4 Pelicans and 1-3 Clippers are great spots for Minnesota to get some wind under its sails after the deflating loss of Edwards. Seeing the Thunder this early on is also a good place to start gathering some intel on one of the West's top contenders, even if OKC has lost talent due to injury over the last few days. Playing the upstart Grizzlies, who've started the year 5-0, should be a nice test for both sides as well.

Being without Edwards for the NBA Cup is disappointing, since it would've been the kind of pressure-packed situation he seems to thrive in and a good experience for this group as a whole as they seek to be title favorites down the stretch. But his absence also allows the likes of Terrence Shannon Jr., Ayo Dosunmu and Bones Hyland to be more involved early on, which could produce some valuable run for them during this event.

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