Regular-season tournament of the National Basketball Association
"In-Season Tournament" redirects here. For NASCAR's regular season tournament that was originally scheduled to be held under the "In-Season Tournament" title, seeNASCAR In-Season Challenge.
For the most recent edition, see2025 NBA Cup. For the tournament played at the end of the season between the 7–10 seeded teams in each conference (contending for playoff spots), seeNBA play-in tournament.
TheNBA Cup[1] is an annualNational Basketball Association (NBA) tournament that occurs during theregular season. The tournament was officially announced on July 8, 2023, and it debuted during the2023–24 NBA season. The first edition of the event was called theIn-Season Tournament.[1]
The format is amulti-stage tournament beginning with group play followed bysingle-elimination knockout rounds. Group play consists of three groups of five teams per conference, for a total of six groups. Each team plays four group stage games, which count towards both the NBA Cup group standings and the regular season standings. The winners of each group, along with onewild card team from each conference, advance to the knockout rounds. The final two rounds of the knockout stage are played at a neutral site.
The winning team receives the trophy, also called the NBA Cup, and each winning player receives a cash prize.[2] The first winner of the NBA Cup was theLos Angeles Lakers, with the tournament MVP beingLeBron James.[3]
NBA officials discussed the possibility of holding an in-season tournament for at least 15 years before it was introduced.[4] The NBA has been concerned for decades about trying to compete with theNational Football League (NFL) for viewers and attention when the two leagues’ regular seasons overlap during November and December each year.[5]
Thesecond edition of the NBA Cup was held from November 12 to December 17, 2024 with the semifinals and championship hosted at T-Mobile Arena for the second consecutive year. TheMilwaukee Bucks defeated theOklahoma City Thunder to win the second NBA Cup championship game.[9]
Thethird edition of the NBA Cup was held from October 31 to December 16, 2025 with the semifinals and championship hosted at T-Mobile Arena for the third consecutive year. TheNew York Knicks defeated theSan Antonio Spurs to win the third NBA Cup championship game.[10]
On February 2, 2024, theMiddle Eastern airline companyEmirates announced a multi-year deal with the NBA including the naming rights of the NBA Cup.[11] On December 13, 2024,Refugees International urged the NBA to suspend its partnership with the UAE due to its role in inciting theSudanese civil war. The organization stated that instead of legitimizing the UAE through sponsorship, the NBA should reevaluate its partnership with the Emirates and use its influence to pressure it to end the involvement in the Sudan war.[12] Similar concerns were raised during the preseason games hosted by the NBA in Abu Dhabi on October 4–6, 2024. TheHuman Rights Watch had accused the NBA of "sportswashing" theUAE's human rights record and urged it to cancel the games over the Emirati involvement in the Sudan war.[13]
Each conference is divided into three groups with five teams each, for a total of six groups. The top three teams (by previous-season record) are randomly assigned to the three conference groups, then the next three are randomly assigned, and so on.
Round Robin tournament in each group: each team plays one game against each of the other teams in its group, for a total of four games (two at home and two on the road). These games also count as regular season games.
Four teams from each conference advance to a knockout tournament: the three pool winners in addition to the group runner-up with the best record as a wild card.
The Quarterfinal games are hosted by the two teams with the best record in Group Play games for each conference, and the team with the best record in Group Play games host the wild card team. If two or more teams are tied for the higher seed in a conference, the tie will be broken following the tiebreaker protocol described below.
The semifinals and championship game are played at a neutral site; so far, every season they have been held atT-Mobile Arena inParadise, Nevada.
The championship game does not count as a regular season game.
Players on teams playing in the knockout stage receive prize money, with the amount increasing depending on how far their team advances. The prize money has changed from season-to-season.[17][18]
In the event two or more teams are tied within a group at the end of the Group Play, the tie will be broken according to the following tiebreakers (in sequential order):
Head-to-head record in the Group Stage
Point differential in the Group Stage
Total points scored in the Group Stage
Regular season record from the previous NBA regular season
Random drawing (if two or more teams are still tied following the previous tiebreakers)
If two or more teams are tied for the wild card in a conference, after group tiebreakers are resolved, the wild-card tie will be broken following the same tiebreakers described above (with the exception of the head-to-head record in the Group Stage).[19]
TheNational Basketball Players Association (NBPA), the players' union, said in 2023 that many players objected to the use of point differential and points scored as tiebreakers. These tiebreakers, according to one report, encouraged teams torun up the score, in violation of the sport'sunwritten rules. Players, coaches, and other league employees have suggested alternative tiebreakers, such as limiting point differential to a maximum value per game, or using the number of quarters in which a team outscored its opponent.[20]
Starting with the 2026 NBA Cup, semifinal round games will be held at the home arena of each conference's higher-seeded team instead of at a neutral site. The final round will still be played at a neutral site.[21]
In the Inaugural In-Season Tournament in 2023, home teams wore the "City" edition uniforms. The courts also featured a fully painted maple surface with a contrasting middle color strip painted from each end of the free-throw lane. The NBA Cup was displayed at center court, and silhouettes of the trophy were also painted on the free-throw lanes.[22] The court designs were based on the home team's "City" uniform for that season.[23]
Not all teams were able to play on their new NBA Cup courts. TheDallas Mavericks' two home NBA Cup games in 2023 were played on more traditional basketball courts due to manufacturing issues affecting their NBA Cup court.[24]
Reactions to the unique court designs were mixed, with Mavericks ownerMark Cuban saying he "wasn't a fan" of the courts, though he did admit that they were a "brilliant marketing idea".[24] Some players, includingJaylen Brown andLuka Dončić, complained that the new courts were slippery.[25][26] Some fans complained on social media that the courts were too bright and distracting.[27]
For the semifinal and final rounds atT-Mobile Arena inLas Vegas, the tournament court was blue with a red middle strip.[28] However, despite playing all tournament games in their black "City" uniforms through the quarterfinals, theLos Angeles Lakers were forced to wear their gold "Icon" uniforms in the semifinal round due to lack of contrast with the court,[29] against the wishes of Lakers players. TheIndiana Pacers were also hit with the same restriction.[30]
Starting with the 2024 NBA Cup, home teams wore the "Statement" edition uniforms and road teams wear the "Association" edition uniforms.[a][b] The courts used for the 2024 tournament featured a fully painted maple surface with three concentric circles. The NBA Cup is displayed at center court, and silhouettes of the trophy are also painted on the free-throw lanes. The court designs contrast with the home team's "Statement" uniform for that particular season.[31]
The 2024 semifinal and final round court featured a similar aesthetic as the team-specific NBA Cup courts for that year, with bracket motifs complementing the three concentric circles and blue and red gradients representing theEastern andWestern Conferences respectively.[32]
The courts used in the 2025 NBA Cup were again based on each team's "Statement" uniform, but with personalized overlays representing each team's identities. Previous Cup champions Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks have a slight variation to their NBA Cup court, adding the year within the base of the cup trophy at center court to signify the season in which the team won the NBA Cup.[33] For the semifinal and final games at Las Vegas, the court featured a 5x5 mosaic pattern and a stylized bracket pattern at center court.[34]
Due to slippery conditions involving their NBA Cup court, theLakers used their normal court for their cup game against theDallas Mavericks on November 28, as well as the quarterfinal game against theSan Antonio Spurs.[35][36] TheOrlando Magic also used their normal court for their quarterfinal game against theMiami Heat after their NBA Cup court was damaged during storage.[37]
With the exception of the championship game, all games in the tournament are counted as regular season games.
To adjust for the differing number of games played by different teams, the NBA's regular season scheduling formula will be modified so only 80 games for each team are initially announced prior to the beginning of the season, with two other scheduled games announced at the end of the group stage:[16]
The 22 teams who do not qualify for the knockout rounds of the tournament will play two additional games, one at home and one on the road, against other teams eliminated prior to the knockout rounds. These games will occur during the Knockout Rounds on days when NBA Cup games are not scheduled.
The four teams who lose in the quarterfinals will play one additional game against the opponent from the same conference on the day before the tournament Championship Game.
The first parentheses in theWestern champions andEastern champions columns indicate the teams' playoff seed. The second parentheses indicate the number of times that teams have appeared in an NBA Cup Finals as well as each respective team's Finals record to date.
The winning team of the tournament receives the NBA Cup. The trophy is designed by Victor Solomon and created byTiffany & Co.[47] It is 35 pounds (16 kg) ofsterling silver,vermeil, coated with 24karatgold, blackceramic and stands at 23 inches (58 cm) tall symbolizing the year the tournament was created. The design features a black cup surrounded by eight gold prongs and a base inspired by the new conference championship trophies. The eight prongs are in reference to the eight teams that qualify for the knockout round. The base design includes 30 net openings which represent the 30 teams in the league.[46]
The winner of the Most Valuable Player award is decided by members of a selected media panel, as well as by online fan votes. In theinaugural tournament, 20 votes were decided by media members while 5 votes were decided by fans.[48]
Players inbold were the NBA Cup MVP. Numbers in parentheses denote the number of All-NBA Cup Team selections up to and including that year.Giannis Antetokounmpo andShai Gilgeous-Alexander are the only players to appear in the below list twice.
In 2023 and 2024,TNT andESPN aired Group Stage games as part of their regular Tuesday and Friday night coverage, respectively.NBA TV also airedBlack Friday games.[54][55] TNT then aired most quarterfinal games, with the exception of one game on ESPN in 2024. The semifinals were split, with TNT televising one game per year, and ESPN orABC airing the other. ABC aired the championship game in both years.[56][57][58]
Beginning with the 2025 Cup,Prime Video will air the majority of group play games, with the majority of these games moved to Friday evenings. Two extra Cup Nights were also designated to bothNBC/Peacock and ESPN.[59] All knockout round games will air on Prime Video, coexisting with regional broadcasts.[60] NBC/Peacock's two games, airing on November 25th, will be carried as part of itsCoast 2 Coast Tuesday coverage, while ESPN will carry a tripleheader the next night.
a In the 2024 NBA Cup Final, theMilwaukee Bucks wore their black "Statement" uniform, while theOklahoma City Thunder wore their orange "Statement" uniform, as prescribed by the league given the game's neutral site designation.
b During the2025 NBA Cup, the visiting team wore the primary color "Icon" uniforms in games against theSan Antonio Spurs. The Spurs' "Statement" uniforms have a silver base, which would cause contrast issues if road teams wore the white "Association" uniforms. For the semifinal game, theOklahoma City Thunder wore their orange "Statement" uniform against the Spurs in their silver "Statement" uniform, and in the Cup Final, the Spurs (silver) and theNew York Knicks (black) both wore their "Statement" uniforms, as prescribed by the league given the game's neutral site designation.
2025 NBA Cup
