Which two teams will face off inside Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for the 2026 Emirates NBA Cup?
This summer, the league unveiled the full group stage schedule for this year's in-season tournament, with action taking place every Friday from Oct. 30 to Nov. 27 and on special Cup nights during Thanksgiving week (Nov. 24-25).
After the New York Knicks became the first team to win the NBA Cup and Finals in the same season, can Jalen Brunson & Co. keep their championship run going? They'll have plenty of competition, specifically within the star-studded East Group B.
Here's what you need to know about the in-season tournament, now in its fourth year.
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Schedule | Groups | FAQ
San Antonio Spurs 123, Golden State Warriors 85
The game was essentially over before the Warriors even scored a point. The 18-0 Spurs stampede out of the gate was the longest unanswered run allowed by the Warriors to start a game in the Steve Kerr era, according to ESPN stats. It only cascaded from there. The Spurs went up by as many as 43 points and cruised into the clubhouse with a 38-point win.
Without the injured Stephen Curry (or Jimmy Butler III or Moses Moody or Kristaps Porzingis), the Warriors couldn't score. According to ESPN stats, they went 10-of-42 when Victor Wembanyama was on the floor. The Spurs outscored them 53-28 during Wembanyama's court time, including 30-6 in the paint. That 24% conversion rate was the worst by any team when Wembanyama has been on the court in a game in his career.
Stephon Castle was particularly impressive, showing off his improving offensive game. He hit two 3s in the opening minutes after the Warriors sagged off of him and finished with 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting, including five 3s. On the Warriors side, this was the worst game of Yaxel Lendeborg's rookie year. Stepping into more of a lead offensive role without Curry, Lendeborg went 1-of-13 and was a minus-40 in 24 minutes. -- Anthony Slater
Indiana Pacers 106, New York Knicks 104
The Knicks can't claim they didn't have their opportunity for a comeback win in the closing minutes.
Jalen Brunson missed a patented floater with 2:10 left and a wing 3 with 42 seconds left. The Pacers still cracked the door back open. Pascal Siakam missed two free throws and then Indiana threw away an inbound pass, giving the Knicks a final possession, down two, with 2.8 seconds on the clock.
New York had as clean a look as can be found in that circumstance -- Karl-Anthony Towns on a jab step 15-footer without much of a contest. But it landed short, giving the Pacers a win they desperately needed for both Cup and morale purposes.
Indiana entered the season as a popular stealth pick in the Eastern Conference. It's too small of a sample size to hit the eject button, but the Pacers wobbled to a 4-8 start and lost Tyrese Haliburton to a hamstring strain. This win, however slim, is a useful November boost. Indiana did it with balanced scoring. All five starters finished with double-figure points: Siakam had 19, Aaron Nesmith 18 (though he left late with an injury), Kelly Oubre 16, Ivica Zubac 12 and Andrew Nembhard 12.
On the Knicks side, Mikal Bridges was a silver lining. He has had a dreadful start to the season but responded with a season-high 18 points in 29 minutes, even hitting a huge midrange jumper to cut the deficit to 106-104 in the final 10 seconds. Knicks coach Mike Brown has been trimming Bridges' minutes recently (he played only 17 minutes in each of the past two games), but he perhaps earned some extra opportunity with Friday's showing. -- Slater
2026 Emirates NBA Cup schedule
Group Play
Oct. 30
Nov. 6
Nov. 13
Portland Trail Blazers at Sacramento Kings, 10 p.m. ET
Oklahoma City Thunder at LA Clippers, 10:30 p.m. ET
Nov. 20
Charlotte Hornets at Atlanta Hawks, 7 p.m. ET
Orlando Magic at Brooklyn Nets, 7:30 p.m. ET
Indiana Pacers at Cleveland Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m. ET
Toronto Raptors at Detroit Pistons, 7:30 p.m. ET (Prime)
Washington Wizards at Chicago Bulls, 8 p.m. ET
New Orleans Pelicans at Oklahoma City Thunder, 8 p.m. ET
Phoenix Suns at Utah Jazz, 9:30 p.m. ET
Houston Rockets at Denver Nuggets, 10 p.m. ET (Prime)
Sacramento Kings at Los Angeles Lakers, 10 p.m. ET
Nov. 24
Detroit Pistons at Orlando Magic, 7 p.m. ET
Boston Celtics at Washington Wizards, 8 p.m. ET (NBC)
Dallas Mavericks at Denver Nuggets, 10 p.m. ET (NBC)
Nov. 25
Miami Heat at Philadelphia 76ers, 5 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Chicago Bulls at Charlotte Hornets, 7 p.m. ET
Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks, 7:30 p.m. ET
Minnesota Timberwolves at Oklahoma City Thunder, 7:30 p.m. ET
LA Clippers at Memphis Grizzlies, 8 p.m. ET
Brooklyn Nets at Milwaukee Bucks, 8 p.m. ET
Phoenix Suns at Houston Rockets, 8:30 p.m. ET
Sacramento Kings at Golden State Warriors, 10 p.m. ET
San Antonio Spurs at Portland Trail Blazers, 10 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Nov. 27
Miami Heat at New York Knicks, 7 p.m. ET (Prime)
Milwaukee Bucks at Detroit Pistons, 7:30 p.m. ET
Philadelphia 76ers at Indiana Pacers, 7:30 p.m. ET
Brooklyn Nets at Toronto Raptors, 7:30 p.m. ET
Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics, 8 p.m. ET
Memphis Grizzlies at Minnesota Timberwolves, 8:30 p.m. ET
Dallas Mavericks at Phoenix Suns, 9 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Lakers at San Antonio Spurs, 9:30 p.m. ET (Prime)
Denver Nuggets at Utah Jazz, 9:30 p.m. ET
New Orleans Pelicans at LA Clippers, 9:30 p.m. ET
Golden State Warriors at Portland Trail Blazers, 9:30 p.m. ET
Knockout rounds
Dec. 4-5: Quarterfinals
Dec. 8 and/or Dec. 9: Semifinals
Dec. 11: Championship
NBA Cup FAQ: Everything to know
What is the format?
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has had a longstanding fascination with European soccer. Establishing an in-season cup competition within the NBA schedule came from soccer leagues having both a regular-season title, won by the team with the most points over the full year, and a separate tournament (or, in some leagues, multiple tournaments) that runs concurrently with the league season.
In England, for example, there are the various divisions -- led by the Premier League -- and also the FA Cup competition. But unlike those European leagues, which play their cup competitions outside of their league schedules, the NBA Cup is built in to the regular-season slate.
The 30 NBA teams are split into six five-team groups -- three featuring Eastern Conference teams and three comprising Western Conference teams -- with each team then playing one game against the other four in its group. The winner of each group, plus the team with the best record among the non-group winners, advances to the knockout stage of the competition.
How will this impact the regular-season schedule and standings?
Typically, the NBA sends out a full 82-game schedule in mid-August. Now, the league sends out only 80 games and leaves a gap of roughly a week to fill in later, depending on how the group stage of the NBA Cup plays out.
The two teams from the East and West that lose in the quarterfinals will play their 82nd game against each other. Meanwhile, the 22 teams that fail to qualify for the knockout rounds will have their final two games scheduled -- one at home and one on the road against others eliminated in the group stage.
The teams that reach the NBA Cup final will actually play 83 games -- though the championship game won't count toward the standings or any statistical markers. The four teams that reach the semifinals will have completed their 82 games and won't need any other games added to their schedule.
Any team that makes it to the semifinals will have that game moved later in the schedule to avoid back-to-back games. The NBA made this change in an effort to avoid having empty days on the calendar while attempting to minimize back-to-backs for all teams as much as possible.
Where are the semifinals and final being played?
In a shift from previous tournaments, the quarterfinals and semifinals will be played at home sites. The Dec. 11 title game, meanwhile, will move from Las Vegas to the storied Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. NBA commissioner Adam Silver previously said the league was searching for "storied college arenas" to play host to the Cup final. (No venue has been announced for 2027.)
Why does the NBA Cup include regular-season games?
Before its launch, one of the main questions surrounding the in-season tournament was why any team would be incentivized to compete in it. The NBA ensured teams will be motivated by making every game part of the season and, as in-conference matchups, potentially important to playoff tiebreakers. If this had been set up like the cup tournaments in European soccer, there would have been nothing stopping NBA teams from opting out by sitting their top players for extra rest.
Which teams make up the groups?
To create the groups, the NBA put the 15 teams in each conference into five pots, separated by their finish last season. Pot 1 included the teams that finished in the top three in the regular-season standings, Nos. 4-6 in the standings went into Pot 2, Nos. 7-9 into Pot 3, Nos. 10-12 into Pot 4 and Nos. 13-15 into Pot 5. As a result, the following groups were drawn:
East Group A
East Group B
East Group C
West Group A
West Group B
West Group C
Does one group stand out the most from the others?
East Group B is a monster.
All five teams -- defending NBA Cup and Finals champion New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Miami and Indiana -- are among the favorites to win the conference in 2026-27. The group stage will also feature reunion games for LeBron James, when the 76ers face the Cavs and Heat. And after guard Tyrese Haliburton missed the entire 2025-26 season while rehabbing a torn Achilles, the Pacers will be back among the East elite and hungry to reach the title game in Indianapolis.
What do players get for winning?
In 2023, the first year the tournament was held, the players on the winning team received $500,000 each and the runners-up got $200,000. The losing players of the semifinals each got $100,000, and those ousted in the quarterfinals got $50,000. Now, in each subsequent year, the prizes will be slightly higher, as a result of negotiated raises year over year to keep pace with increases in the salary cap and basketball-related income as part of the most recent collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association.
Will anyone earn individual honors for their play in NBA Cup games?
There will be an MVP award, as well as an all-tournament team.
Will this have any impact on the playoffs?
Not beyond the games counting in the regular-season standings (and toward tiebreakers). The only playoff impact comes from the wins and losses accrued throughout the tournament. Though there was debate among league insiders about guaranteeing a playoff berth for winning the tournament, ultimately that idea (or any other to further incentivize teams) was not enacted.
Why is it called the Emirates NBA Cup?
The league struck a sponsorship deal with Emirates, the Dubai-based airline, to sponsor the tournament after its initial run. The NBA said last year that it went with the most basic titles for both the tournament and its trophy -- the "in-season tournament" and "NBA Cup" -- as a way to introduce the concept to fans. However, using such nondescript names had another clear advantage: It gave the league a blank slate in case it sold the naming rights for the tournament and cup to a sponsor and avoided the complications that could arise by naming them after someone (for example, late NBA commissioner David Stern, one possibility that had been floated before the tournament was officially unveiled).
Previous NBA Cup champions
2025
New York Knicks defeat San Antonio Spurs, 124-113
Tournament MVP: Jalen Brunson, Knicks
2024
Tournament MVP: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks
2023
Los Angeles Lakers defeat Indiana Pacers, 123-109
Tournament MVP: LeBron James, Lakers