SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The NBA Cup, formerly called the In-Season Tournament, has officially returned for its second year.
All 30 NBA teams will compete for the NBA Cup trophy, which was won by the Los Angeles Lakers in the inaugural tournament.
The Sacramento Kings begin NBA Cup group play Friday night at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
For those who are unfamiliar with the in-season tournament concept, here is what you need to know.
What is the format?
The NBA Cup involves all 30 teams and consists of two stages: Group play and the knockout rounds.
In-season tournament games will total 67 games across both stages and will count toward the regular-season standings. The only game that won’t count toward the regular season standings is the championship game due to it being the 83rd game for the two qualifying teams.
Group Play
Group play began Nov. 12 and will continue through Dec. 3. NBA Cup games will take place every Tuesday and Friday within that time.
For group play, teams are divided into six groups of five with three groups each in the Western and Eastern conferences. According to the NBA, all 30 teams were randomly drawn into groups of five within their conference based on their 2023-24 win-loss record.
Each team will play four games in group play with two games at home and two others on the road.
The 22 teams that don’t qualify for the knockout rounds will each play two regular-games.
Knockout Rounds
Following group play, eight teams advance to the single-elimination knockout stage. The eight teams include the top team in each of the six groups and two “wild card” teams, which are the next best from each conference that finished second in group play.
The knockout stage begins with the quarterfinals Dec. 10 and 11 and will take place at the teams’ hosting site. The semifinals are Dec. 14 and championship Dec. 17 will be played a neutral site at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Each team in the knockout stage will compete for a prize pool and the NBA Cup trophy. Allocations increase depending on how far a team progresses in the tournament, according to the league.
A regular season game will be added to the schedule for the losing teams in the quarterfinals.
Kings’ NBA Cup schedule
The Kings were placed in West Group A, which includes the Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets and the Portland Trail Blazers.
Here are the days, locations and times for the Kings’ group play schedule:
- Friday, Nov. 15 vs. Timberwolves at Golden 1 Center, 7 p.m.
- Friday, Nov. 22 at Clippers at Intuit Dome, 7:30 p.m.
- Friday, Nov. 29 at Trail Blazers at Moda Center, 7 p.m.
- Tuesday, Dec. 3 vs. Rockets at Golden 1 Center, 7 p.m.
How did the Kings fare last season?
The Kings made it out of the group stage in the inaugural tournament, winning their group with a 4-0 record.
They were eliminated in the knockout stage after a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans at Golden 1 Center.
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