How Does the NBA Cup Work in 2026–27? Group Stage and Tiebreakers Explained
The NBA season already has an 82-game schedule and a postseason that determines the league champion. So why are teams competing for another trophy in November and December?
The answer is the NBA Cup.
The Emirates NBA Cup is an annual tournament played during the regular season. It gives all 30 teams another championship to pursue, with group standings, knockout games, prize money, and a separate trophy.
For 2026–27, the competition includes an important change: NBA Cup semifinals will be played at the higher-seeded team’s home arena, rather than at a neutral venue.
The championship will take place on December 11, 2026, at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
But how do teams qualify, what happens when group records are tied, and why can point differential determine who advances?
Here’s a complete guide to the NBA Cup format in 2026–27.
What Is the NBA Cup?
The NBA Cup is a tournament that takes place within the regular NBA season.
Previously called the NBA In-Season Tournament, the competition gives teams an opportunity to win a separate championship before the traditional NBA playoffs.
Every NBA franchise participates.
Unlike the playoffs, teams do not need to qualify through their regular-season standings to enter the group stage.
Instead, all 30 teams begin the competition in six groups of five.
Teams play four group-stage games, and eight eventually advance to single-elimination knockout rounds.
The winning team receives the NBA Cup trophy.
Players on qualifying teams also receive financial awards based on how far their teams advance.
The tournament’s rules are explained in the NBA’s official 2026 Cup format guide.
How Does the NBA Cup Work in 2026–27?
The tournament has two stages: Group Play and the Knockout Rounds.
During Group Play, every team faces the other four teams in its group once.
Those games are played as part of the regular NBA schedule.
After the group stage, six group winners and two wild-card teams advance.
The remaining eight teams compete in a knockout bracket.
Each knockout game is single elimination.
A team that loses its quarterfinal or semifinal is eliminated from the Cup, although its ordinary NBA season continues.
The two remaining teams meet in the championship.
The tournament therefore combines a short round-robin group stage with a traditional knockout competition.
How Many Teams Play in the NBA Cup?
All 30 NBA teams participate.
The Eastern Conference has three groups, and the Western Conference has three groups.
Each group contains five teams.
The teams are grouped within their own conference, meaning Eastern Conference clubs face other Eastern Conference clubs during Group Play.
The same applies to Western Conference teams.
This structure ensures that the championship matchup features one Eastern Conference team and one Western Conference team.
It also gives every franchise an opportunity to compete for the trophy, regardless of its performance during the previous season.
How Are NBA Cup Groups Selected?
The NBA uses the previous regular-season standings to help balance the groups.
For the 2026 tournament, teams were placed into five pots within each conference based on their 2025–26 regular-season records.
The three teams with the best records entered Pot 1.
The next three entered Pot 2, and the process continued through Pot 5.
Each group received one team from each pot through a random draw.
This method reduces the likelihood of one group containing only the strongest teams from the previous season.
However, the groups are not guaranteed to be equally competitive.
Teams can improve or decline significantly during the offseason.
Trades, injuries, coaching changes, and player development can all affect their strength.
What Are the 2026 NBA Cup Groups?
The official 2026 group draw produced the following matchups.
Eastern Conference
| Group | Teams |
|---|---|
| East A | Brooklyn Nets, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors |
| East B | Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers |
| East C | Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards |
Western Conference
| Group | Teams |
|---|---|
| West A | Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz |
| West B | LA Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder |
| West C | Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs |
Each team plays the other four members of its group once.
The group standings determine which teams can advance to the knockout stage.
How Many NBA Cup Group Games Does Each Team Play?
Every team plays four designated group-stage games.
Two are played at home, and two are played on the road.
For example, a team in West Group C plays one Cup game against each of the other four teams in that group.
Those games count toward both its NBA Cup group record and its regular-season record.
This is an important distinction.
The Cup does not add four extra games to every team’s schedule.
Instead, the designated matchups serve two purposes.
A victory improves the team’s regular-season standings and its Cup qualification chances.
A loss can damage both.
The four-game format also makes every result important because teams have limited opportunities to recover.
When Are the 2026 NBA Cup Games Played?
The 2026 competition begins on October 30 and ends on December 11.
Group Play takes place on designated Cup Nights through November 27.
The official schedule includes October 30; November 6, 13, 20, 24, 25, and 27.
The quarterfinals are scheduled for December 4–5.
The semifinals take place December 8 and/or December 9.
The championship is scheduled for December 11.
The NBA has published these dates in its official 2026 Cup schedule.
Fans should remember that the Cup runs alongside the regular season rather than replacing it.
How Do Teams Qualify for the NBA Cup Knockout Rounds?
Eight teams advance from Group Play.
The winner of each of the six groups automatically qualifies.
That accounts for six places.
The remaining two places go to wild-card teams.
Each conference receives one wild card.
The wild card is the team with the best group-stage record among the teams that finished second in their respective groups.
For example, imagine three Eastern Conference group runners-up finish with records of 3-1, 2-2, and 2-2.
The 3-1 team receives the Eastern Conference wild-card berth.
If multiple runners-up have identical records, the NBA applies its tiebreaker procedures.
This format gives strong second-place teams another route into the tournament.
What Are the NBA Cup Tiebreaker Rules?
When two or more teams finish with identical group-stage records, the NBA uses a specific sequence of tiebreakers.
For ties within a group, the order is:
- Head-to-head record in Group Play.
- Group-stage point differential.
- Total points scored in Group Play.
- Record from the 2025–26 NBA regular season.
- Random drawing, if all previous criteria remain tied.
The process stops once the tie is resolved.
For example, two teams may finish 3-1.
If one defeated the other during Group Play, that team wins the head-to-head tiebreaker.
If the tie involves multiple teams and head-to-head results do not settle it, the next applicable criteria become important.
These rules make the margin of victory relevant in ways that ordinary NBA standings do not.
What Is Point Differential in the NBA Cup?
Point differential is the difference between points scored and points allowed.
The formula is:
Point differential = Points scored − Points allowed
Suppose a team wins its first Cup game 120-100.
Its point differential is plus 20.
It then loses its second game 105-100.
Its differential falls by five, leaving it at plus 15.
The calculation continues across the team’s four group-stage games.
A higher point differential can help a team win a tiebreaker.
This creates an unusual strategic situation.
A team leading by 15 points late in a Cup game may continue trying to score because a larger margin could improve its qualification chances.
That does not mean point differential is more important than winning.
The group-stage win-loss record remains the primary consideration.
Does Overtime Count Toward NBA Cup Point Differential?
The 2026 rules include an important exception.
Overtime scoring does not count toward NBA Cup point-differential or total-points-scored tiebreakers.
For a group-stage game that goes to overtime, the point differential used for Cup tiebreaking purposes is zero.
Points scored during overtime are excluded from the total-points-scored tiebreaker.
Imagine a game is tied 110-110 at the end of regulation.
One team wins 125-118 after overtime.
The winner receives the group-stage victory.
However, the game contributes zero to each team’s Cup point differential.
This prevents overtime scoring from creating an additional tiebreaking advantage simply because a game lasted longer.
It is one of the most important details for fans calculating qualification scenarios.
How Do NBA Cup Wild-Card Tiebreakers Work?
Wild-card qualification compares the second-place teams within each conference.
If those teams have identical group-stage records, the NBA uses its established tiebreaker sequence with one important difference.
Head-to-head record is excluded from the wild-card comparison.
That makes sense because the runners-up come from different groups and may not have played each other during Group Play.
Instead, point differential becomes the first relevant comparison after their tied records.
If point differential is also tied, total points scored is considered.
The remaining criteria include the previous regular-season record and, if necessary, a random drawing.
The NBA resolves ties within individual groups before calculating the wild-card positions.
This ensures that only the appropriate second-place teams enter the wild-card comparison.
Can a Team Finish 3-1 and Still Miss the NBA Cup Knockout Rounds?
Yes.
A 3-1 record does not guarantee qualification.
Imagine two teams in the same group finish 3-1.
One wins the head-to-head tiebreaker and becomes group champion.
The other finishes second.
That second-place team must compete for the conference’s single wild-card position.
If another group’s runner-up has a better record or wins the applicable tiebreaker, the 3-1 team can be eliminated.
This is why group-stage results must be evaluated in context.
A strong record helps, but the team’s position within its group and its point differential can also matter.
How Does the NBA Cup Knockout Bracket Work?
The knockout stage includes eight teams: four from the East and four from the West.
Each conference has three group winners and one wild-card team.
The quarterfinals are played within each conference.
The top two qualifying teams in each conference host quarterfinal games.
The highest-seeded team faces the wild-card qualifier.
Every matchup is single elimination.
Winners advance to the semifinals, and the two semifinal winners meet in the championship.
There are no best-of-seven series.
A single poor performance can end a team’s Cup campaign.
This structure creates the kind of urgency normally associated with postseason basketball.
What Changed About the NBA Cup Semifinals in 2026–27?
The biggest format change is the location of the semifinals.
Previously, the semifinals and championship were played at a neutral venue.
Beginning with the 2026–27 season, the semifinals take place at the home arena of the higher-seeded team.
Only the championship remains at a neutral site.
This gives teams an additional reason to finish Group Play with strong results.
A higher seed can provide a home-court advantage during the knockout stage.
It also allows more fans to watch important Cup games in their own cities.
The change may affect travel, preparation, and crowd atmosphere.
For the teams involved, earning home court could become a meaningful competitive advantage.
Where Is the 2026 NBA Cup Championship?
The 2026 NBA Cup Championship will be played at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The game is scheduled for Friday, December 11.
Hinkle Fieldhouse is a historic basketball venue associated with Butler University and Indiana basketball tradition.
Unlike the quarterfinals and semifinals, the championship is played at a neutral location.
That means neither finalist receives a home-court advantage based on its Cup seed.
The championship determines the winner of the NBA Cup trophy.
However, it does not determine the NBA champion.
The league’s main championship is still awarded through the playoffs after the regular season.
Do NBA Cup Games Count Toward the Regular Season?
Most do.
Group-stage games, quarterfinals, and semifinals count toward the regular-season standings.
Their results also contribute to regular-season team and player statistics.
The championship is the exception.
It does not count toward either finalist’s regular-season record.
Statistics recorded in the championship are also excluded from regular-season totals.
Every NBA team still plays 82 regular-season games.
The league schedules additional games for teams that do not advance so the Cup does not disrupt the overall regular-season structure.
This arrangement allows the tournament to operate inside the existing schedule.
Why Are Some NBA Games Listed as TBD?
When the regular-season schedule is released, certain December matchups remain undecided.
These games depend on which teams qualify for the NBA Cup knockout rounds.
The NBA cannot finalize every matchup in advance because the tournament bracket is determined by group-stage results.
Teams that do not advance receive additional regular-season games during the knockout period.
Quarterfinalists and semifinalists play their qualifying Cup games as regular-season contests.
The flexible scheduling ensures that every team ultimately completes its required 82-game schedule.
For fans, a TBD listing is therefore not necessarily a postponed game.
It may simply be a matchup waiting for the Cup standings to determine the schedule.
What Does the NBA Cup Champion Receive?
The winning team receives the NBA Cup trophy.
Players on teams that reach the knockout rounds are also eligible for financial awards.
The prize allocations increase as teams advance.
A quarterfinalist receives less than a semifinalist, while the finalists receive larger awards.
The championship team receives the highest allocation.
The competition also recognizes individual performances.
After the championship, a media panel selects the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and All-Tournament Team.
Those honors consider performances from both Group Play and the Knockout Rounds.
The awards give players additional recognition beyond the regular-season and playoff honors.
Is the NBA Cup the Same as the NBA Playoffs?
No.
The NBA Cup takes place early in the regular season.
The NBA playoffs occur after the regular season and determine the league champion.
The Cup begins with all 30 teams, while the playoffs have a separate qualification process.
Cup group-stage games are also regular-season games.
The playoff format uses multi-game series, whereas the Cup knockout rounds use single-elimination games.
Winning the Cup does not guarantee a playoff berth.
A team could theoretically win the tournament in December and struggle during the remainder of the season.
Likewise, a team eliminated from the Cup can still win the NBA championship.
The two competitions have different purposes and rewards.
Why Does the NBA Cup Matter to Teams?
The NBA Cup creates additional meaningful games during the first part of the season.
A group-stage matchup in November can carry more immediate consequences than an ordinary early-season game.
Teams must consider both winning and, when relevant, point differential.
The knockout rounds also provide high-pressure experience.
Young players can experience elimination basketball months before the playoffs.
Coaches may use these games to evaluate rotations and late-game strategies.
Roster depth can become especially important during a condensed tournament schedule.
For readers interested in professional sports team construction, SportsVell’s NBA category is a starting point for basketball coverage.
The site’s college athlete compensation guide also explores how money influences competitive sports.
How Can Fans Follow NBA Cup Standings?
The easiest approach is to track each team’s group-stage record first.
A 4-0 record usually puts a team in an excellent position to advance.
For teams with matching records, check the head-to-head result and point differential.
Wild-card races require comparing second-place teams from different groups.
Remember that overtime points do not count toward Cup point-differential tiebreakers.
Fans should also distinguish Cup standings from ordinary conference standings.
A team can be performing well in the regular season but poorly in its four designated Cup games.
SportsVell’s football game-length guide provides another example of how game structure affects competition.
Readers interested in alternative tournament formats can explore how Banana Ball works and how its players are paid.
For a different approach to competitive formats, see how many rounds are in a boxing match.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many teams participate in the 2026 NBA Cup?
All 30 NBA teams participate in Group Play.
How many NBA Cup games does each team play?
Every team plays four group-stage games. Teams that advance play additional knockout games.
How many teams advance to the knockout rounds?
Eight teams qualify: six group winners and two wild-card teams.
What is the first NBA Cup group tiebreaker?
Head-to-head record in Group Play is the first tiebreaker within a group.
What is the NBA Cup point-differential rule?
Point differential is points scored minus points allowed during Group Play, subject to the overtime exception.
Does overtime count toward NBA Cup point differential?
No. Games that go to overtime contribute zero to Cup point differential, and overtime scoring is excluded from the total-points tiebreaker.
How are NBA Cup wild cards selected?
Each conference’s best second-place team advances, using the applicable tiebreakers when records are tied.
Where are the 2026 NBA Cup semifinals played?
They are played at the higher-seeded team’s home arena.
Where is the 2026 NBA Cup Final?
The championship is scheduled for December 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Does the NBA Cup championship count toward the regular season?
No. The championship does not count toward regular-season standings or player statistics.
Final Thoughts
The NBA Cup format in 2026–27 combines regular-season basketball with the urgency of a knockout tournament.
All 30 teams begin in six groups, and each plays four designated group-stage games.
Six group winners and two wild cards advance to the quarterfinals.
When records are tied, head-to-head results, point differential, and other criteria determine qualification.
The major change this season is the move to home-court semifinals, giving higher-seeded teams an additional advantage.
The championship will take place on December 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
For fans, the key is to remember that every Cup game matters in two ways: it can affect regular-season standings and determine whether a team continues its pursuit of the NBA Cup trophy.
