She's back. There NBA Cup – the Emirates NBA Cup even according to its full name – starts its second edition this Tuesday evening, after a successful first one won by the Lakers in December 2023.
As a reminder, the matches of this mid-season tournament will be played on Tuesdays (November 12, 19 and 26 and December 3) and Friday (November 15, 22 and 29). Once these matches have passed, you will have to wait until December 10 and 11 to attend the quarter-finals. Before the semi-finals (December 14) and the final in Las Vegas, three days later, on the 17th.
Clarification: the 22 teams not qualified for the quarter-finals will be allocated two regular season matches (one home match and one away match) which will be played on Thursday December 12 and Friday December 13, as well as Sunday December 15 and Monday December 16. The losing quarterfinal teams from each conference will face each other in a regular season game on December 12, 13, 15 or 16.
Groups
EAST 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
How it works
The principle of the tournament is simple: each team will face the four others present in their group. Once these matches are over, each will have a report and the best team in each group will then be directly qualified for the next round. Then, the last two qualified will be in the form of a “wild card”, one for each conference. Thus, among the best group runners-up, we will choose the best team from the East and the best from the West.
How to decide between two or more teams (and also the “wild cards” if necessary) if they have the same record after these four matches? The NBA has given the answers.
- 1/ We look at who won the direct duels
- 2/ The difference in points or “point average” (matches in overtime are not taken into account)
- 3/ The best attack and the most points scored
- 4/ The results during the 2023/24 regular season
- And if, despite these four stages, two or more teams are still tied: draw
After this group phase, we will therefore move to a classic tournament format with quarter-final, semi-final and final, the dates of which have been mentioned above. The two best teams in each conference will face the other two, with the best record playing against the “wild card”. And at the end of this NBA Cup, an MVP and a typical team will be crowned. Last season, LeBron James was voted best player of the tournament.
Finally, to motivate the players, last season, great bonuses were offered: $500,000 for all players on the winning team, $200,000 for the finalists, $100,000 for the semi-finalists and $50,000 for the quarter-finalists. The financial rewards will still be relevant this year.
