The 2025 NBA Cup will begin on October 31.
The NBA Cup is back for its third edition! Also known as the Emirates NBA Cup, it is a multi-stage basketball tournament that features all 30 teams participating, each playing four regular season games that also count towards the league’s group-stage standings. It was introduced in 2023, and debuted during the 2023-24 NBA season. The first edition of the event was called the In-Season Tournament.
In this article, we will delve into the details of the tournament including the schedule, format, prizing and more.
As stated, the 2025 NBA Cup will kick off on October 31, on the night of Halloween. The championship game is scheduled to be played on December 16, 2025.
Here is the complete schedule of the tournament.
| Matchup | Group | Time (ET) | National TV/Result |
| Hawks vs. Pacers | East Group A | 7 p.m. | — |
| Celtics vs. 76ers | East Group B | 7 p.m. | Amazon Prime Video |
| Raptors vs. Cavaliers | East Group A | 7:30 p.m. | — |
| Knicks vs. Bulls | East Group C | 8 p.m. | — |
| Lakers vs. Grizzlies | West Group B | 9:30 p.m. | Amazon Prime Video |
| Jazz vs. Suns | West Group A | 10 p.m. | — |
| Nuggets vs. Trail Blazers | West Group C | 10 p.m. | — |
| Pelicans vs. Clippers | West Group B | 10:30 p.m. | — |
| Matchup | Group | Time (ET) | National TV/Result |
| Celtics vs. Magic | East Group B | 7 p.m. | — |
| Cavaliers vs. Wizards | East Group A | 7 p.m. | — |
| Raptors vs. Hawks | East Group A | 7:30 p.m. | — |
| Pistons vs. Nets | East Group B | 7:30 p.m. | — |
| Rockets vs. Spurs | West Group C | 7:30 p.m. | Amazon Prime Video |
| Hornets vs. Heat | East Group C | 8 p.m. | — |
| Mavericks vs. Grizzlies | West Group B | 8 p.m. | — |
| Bulls vs. Bucks | East Group C | 8 p.m. | — |
| Jazz vs. Timberwolves | West Group A | 8 p.m. | — |
| Warriors vs. Nuggets | West Group C | 10 p.m. | Amazon Prime Video |
| Thunder vs. Kings | West Group A | 10 p.m. | — |
| Matchup | Group | Time (ET) | National TV/Result |
| Heat vs. Knicks | East Group C | 7 p.m. | Amazon Prime Video |
| Nets vs. Magic | East Group B | 7 p.m. | — |
| 76ers vs. Pistons | East Group B | 7:30 p.m. | — |
| Trail Blazers vs. Rockets | West Group C | 8 p.m. | — |
| Hornets vs. Bucks | East Group C | 8 p.m. | — |
| Kings vs. Timberwolves | West Group A | 8 p.m. | — |
| Lakers vs. Pelicans | West Group B | 8 p.m. | — |
| Clippers vs. Mavericks | West Group B | 8:30 p.m. | — |
| Warriors vs. Spurs | West Group C | 9:30 p.m. | Amazon Prime Video |
| Matchup | Group | Time (ET) | National TV/Result |
| Pacers vs. Cavaliers | East Group A | 7 p.m. | Amazon Prime Video |
| Nets vs. Celtics | East Group B | 7:30 p.m. | — |
| Wizards vs. Raptors | East Group A | 7:30 p.m. | — |
| Heat vs. Bulls | East Group C | 8 p.m. | — |
| Pelicans vs. Mavericks | West Group B | 8:30 p.m. | — |
| Timberwolves vs. Suns | West Group A | 9 p.m. | — |
| Nuggets vs. Rockets | West Group C | 9:30 p.m. | Amazon Prime Video |
| Thunder vs. Jazz | West Group A | 10 p.m. | — |
| Trail Blazers vs. Warriors | West Group C | 10 p.m |
| Matchup | Group | Time (ET) | National TV/Result |
| Hawks vs. Wizards | East Group A | 7 p.m. | — |
| Magic vs. 76ers | East Group B | 8 p.m. | NBC, Peacock |
| Clippers vs. Lakers | West Group B | 11 p.m. | NBC, Peacock |
| Matchup | Group | Time (ET) | National TV/Result |
| Pistons vs. Celtics | East Group B | 5 p.m. | ESPN |
| Knicks vs. Hornets | East Group C | 7 p.m. | — |
| Bucks vs. Heat | East Group C | 7:30 p.m. | — |
| Pacers vs. Raptors | East Group A | 7:30 p.m. | — |
| Timberwolves vs. Thunder | West Group A | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Grizzlies vs. Pelicans | West Group B | 8 p.m. | — |
| Rockets vs. Warriors | West Group C | 10 p.m. | ESPN |
| Spurs vs. Trail Blazers | West Group C | 10 p.m. | — |
| Suns vs. Kings | West Group A | 10 p.m. | — |
| Matchup | Group | Time (ET) | National TV/Result |
| Cavaliers vs. Hawks | East Group A | 7:30 p.m. | — |
| 76ers vs. Nets | East Group B | 7:30 p.m. | — |
| Bulls vs. Hornets | East Group C | 7:30 p.m. | — |
| Magic vs. Pistons | East Group B | 7:30 p.m. | — |
| Wizards vs. Pacers | East Group A | 7:30 p.m. | — |
| Bucks vs. Knicks | East Group C | 7:30 p.m. | Amazon Prime Video |
| Suns vs. Thunder | West Group A | 9:30 p.m. | — |
| Spurs vs. Nuggets | West Group C | 9:30 p.m. | — |
| Kings vs. Jazz | West Group A | 9:30 p.m. | — |
| Mavericks vs. Lakers | West Group B | 10 p.m. | Amazon Prime Video |
| Grizzlies vs. Clippers | West Group B | 10 p.m. | — |
In the 2025 NBA Cup, each team will play four group-play games, one against each opponent in its group. Out of those four games, two games will be played at home and two will be played on road. These games will take place every Friday, starting October 31. Out of those teams, eight teams will advance to the knockout rounds, six of them will be group winners, along with two wild cards.
These wild cards will be from the teams from each conference that finished with the best records among the second-place teams in group play.
In case of a tie, the following tiebreakers will come in to play:
The grouping for the 2025 NBA Cup are as follows:
East A: Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards
East B: Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers
East C: New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets
West A: Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz
West B: Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans
West C: Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs
Washington Wizards 
Charlotte Hornets 
Philadelphia 76ers 
Brooklyn Nets 
Toronto Raptors 
Miami Heat 
Chicago Bulls 
Atlanta Hawks 
Orlando Magic 
Detroit Pistons 
Milwaukee Bucks 
Indiana Pacers 
New York Knicks 
Boston Celtics 
Cleveland Cavaliers 
Utah Jazz 
New Orleans Pelicans 
San Antonio Spurs 
Portland Trail Blazers 
Phoenix Suns 
Dallas Mavericks 
Sacramento Kings 
Memphis Grizzlies 
Golden State Warriors 
Minnesota Timberwolves 
LA Clippers 
Denver Nuggets 
Los Angeles Lakers 
Houston Rockets 
Oklahoma City Thunder 
NBA 
