As expected, the NBA has proceeded with the draw for the Emirates NBA Cup, the new name for its mid-season tournament. There are still six groups of five teams, three for each conference, and the NBA had previously defined “hats” and seedings to balance the groups. Thus, the Wolves, the Nuggets and the Thunder could not be in the same group.
The fact remains that The league was heavy-handed. Especially for Victor Wembanyama's Spurs who find themselves with the Lakers, the Thunder and the Suns! Or for the Warriors who will cross paths with… Klay Thompson, who left for the Mavericks, but also the Nuggets, the Pelicans and the Grizzlies. It's the group of death!
In the East, Group B appears to be the toughest with the Pacers, finalists in 2023, the Bucks and the Heat.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Group A : Knicks, Magic, Sixers, Nets and Hornets.
Group B : Pacers, Bucks, Heat, Raptors and Pistons.
Group C : Celtics, Cavaliers, Bulls, Hawks and Wizards.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Group A : Wolves, Clippers, Kings, Rockets and Blazers.
Group B : Lakers, Spurs, Thunder, Suns and Jazz.
Group C : Mavericks, Warriors, Pelicans, Grizzlies and Nuggets.
The Emirates NBA Cup group stage matches will take place on ‘Cup Nights’, four Tuesdays (November 12, 19 and 26 and December 3) and three Fridays (November 15, 22 and 29). Each team will therefore always play one match against each of the four opponents in its group. The knockout stages will begin with the quarter-finals on Tuesday, December 10 and Wednesday, December 11 at the home of the teams with the best record, followed by the semi-finals and the championship in Las Vegas for the second consecutive year.
The 22 teams that do not advance to the quarterfinals will be assigned two regular-season games (one home and one away) to be played on Thursday, December 12 or Friday, December 13 and Sunday, December 15 or Monday, December 16. The losing teams from each conference's quarterfinals will play each other in a regular-season game on December 12, 13, 15 or 16.
