The NBA in-season tournament — officially the Emirates NBA Cup — is winding down with the semifinals slated for Saturday and the finals set for Tuesday. It will all go down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. What is the NBA Cup and how does it work? The second annual in-season tournament kicked off Nov. […]
The NBA in-season tournament — officially the Emirates NBA Cup — is winding down with the semifinals slated for Saturday and the finals set for Tuesday.
It will all go down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
What is the NBA Cup and how does it work?
The second annual in-season tournament kicked off Nov. 12 with group play, in which all 30 NBA teams were randomly placed into groups of five within their conference based on their win-loss record from last regular season, according to the NBA.
Until Dec. 3, each team played four group play games on designated “Cup Nights” — one game against each of its group opponents, with two games at home and two away.
Eight teams then moved on to the knockout rounds — the team with the best standing in each of the six group play groups and one wild card from each conference. This stage of play began with the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
The eight teams that advanced were the Milwaukee Bucks, the Orlando Magic, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Dallas Mavericks, the Atlanta Hawks, the New York Knicks, the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors.
Each of the games played for the Cup will count toward the regular-season standings, save for the Championship, the NBA said.
Who will play in the semifinals and how can I watch?
The Hawks will face the Bucks in the first round of the semifinals at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday. The game will air on TNT.
At 8:30 p.m. ET, the Rockets will go up against the Thunder. The game will be on ABC.
Who will play in the finals and how do I watch?
The final game will feature the winner of each of the semifinal games: Atlanta or Milwaukee vs. Houston or Oklahoma City.
The game will air at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday on ABC.
What does the winning team get?
The champion team will get a trophy — the eponymous NBA Cup — in addition to a prize pool that the NBA said will be allocated to players on teams that qualified for the knockout rounds, with those allocations increasing depending on how far a team went in the tournament.
After the championship game, a media panel will select a MVP of the tournament. An All-Tournament Team will also be named.
