The NBA Cup is back for Year 2, and the schedule continues Friday night with eight games. The 2024 in-season tournament started Nov. 12, while the Magic, Knicks, Pistons, Hawks and Warriors are among the teams off to strong starts in the NBA Cup standings. Golden State can become the first team to advance to the knockout rounds by beating the Pelicans on Friday, but it will also need the Nuggets to lose.
Meanwhile, the 76ers, Wizards and Pelicans face elimination if they lose. If the Warriors and Nuggets win, the Grizzles, who are idle on Friday, will be eliminated.
Of the marquee matchups on Friday night, one will lack a little star power as Luka Doncic is sidelined with a wrist sprain, but the Mavericks will take their three-game win streak into Denver against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.
The NBA Cup format sees all 30 teams participate, and they're broken into six five-team groups for round robin group play. Those games are taking place on Tuesdays and Fridays between Nov. 12 and Dec. 3 and feature unique NBA Cup courts. There are three groups of Eastern Conference Teams and three groups of Western Conference teams.
The winners of each group (based on round-robin record and point differential if a tiebreaker is needed), plus one wild card from each conference (best record of non-group winner), will advance to the knockout stage, where the tournament becomes single-elimination all the way through the semifinals and final in Las Vegas.
Even skeptics of the NBA's inaugural event (called the NBA In-Season Tournament in 2023) had to be impressed with the level of product the players and teams gave us last year. Everyone seemed genuinely invested and put their best foot forward to win the title and the $500,000-per-player prize. The Lakers claimed the crown. Tyrese Haliburton broke out as a superstar for the Pacers.
Below is the schedule for the entire 2024 NBA Cup. Group play will run through Dec. 3. The knockout round starts Dec. 10 and culminates with the title game on Dec. 17 in Las Vegas.
2024 NBA Cup schedule
Group play schedule
All times Eastern
Friday, Nov. 22
- 76ers vs. Nets, 7 p.m.
- Wizards vs. Celtics, 7 p.m.
- Bucks vs. Pacers, 7:30 p.m.
- Bulls vs. Hawks, 8 p.m.
- Rockets vs. Trail Blazers, 8 p.m.
- Pelicans vs. Warriors, 8 p.m.
- Nuggets vs. Mavericks, 10 p.m.
- Clippers vs. Kings, 10:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 26
- Wizards vs. Bulls, 7 p.m.
- Heat vs. Bucks, 7:30 p.m.
- Timberwolves vs. Rockets, 8 p.m.
- Jazz vs. Spurs, 9 p.m.
- Suns vs. Lakers, 10 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 29
- Hornets vs. Knicks, 12 p.m.
- Hawks vs. Cavaliers, 2:30 p.m.
- Grizzlies vs. Pelicans, 5 p.m.
- Nets vs. Magic, 7:30 p.m.
- Timberwolves vs. Clippers, 7:30 p.m.
- Pacers vs. Pistons, 8 p.m.
- Heat vs. Raptors, 8 p.m.
- Bulls vs. Celtics, 8 p.m.
- Lakers vs. Thunder, 10 p.m.
- Trail Blazers vs. Kings, 10 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 3
- Hornets vs. 76ers, 7 p.m.
- Cavaliers vs. Wizards, 7 p.m.
- Pistons vs. Bucks, 7 p.m.
- Knicks vs. Magic, 7:30 p.m.
- Raptors vs. Pacers, 7:30 p.m.
- Thunder vs. Jazz, 8 p.m.
- Mavericks vs. Grizzlies, 8:30 p.m.
- Suns vs. Spurs, 9 p.m.
- Nuggets vs. Warriors, 10 p.m.
- Kings vs. Rockets, 10 p.m.
- Clippers vs. Trail Blazers, 10:30 p.m.
2024 NBA Cup knockout schedule, bracket
The bracket will be determined after games on Dec. 3. Eight teams will make the knockout rounds: four East teams and four West teams. They will play the quarterfinals on Dec. 10 and 11 at the home courts of the higher seeds. The semifinals (Dec. 14) and finals (Dec. 17) will take place in Las Vegas.
Quarterfinals
All times Eastern
Tuesday, Dec. 10
- TBD vs. TBD, 7 or 7:30 p.m. (TNT, Max, TruTV)
- TBD vs. TBD, 9:30 or 10 p.m. (TNT, Max, TruTV)
Wednesday, Dec. 11
- TBD vs. TBD, 7 or 7:30 p.m. (TNT, Max, TruTV)
- TBD vs. TBD, 9:30 or 10 p.m. (TNT, Max, TruTV)
Semifinals
Saturday, Dec. 14
- TBD vs. TBD, 4:30 p.m. (TNT, Max, TruTV)
Finals
Tuesday, Dec. 17
- TBD vs. TBD
2024 NBA Cup groups
2024 NBA Cup odds
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook as of Nov. 14. Fans can take action on the NBA Cup with the latest FanDuel promo code.
- Knicks: +650
- Celtics: +800
- Cavaliers: +800
- Thunder: +1000
- Warriors: +1000
- Nuggets: +1000