The NBA’s in-season tournament returns for its third year. The Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks won the last two tournaments, and with over $500,000 for each player on the winning team on the line, it’s certainly something several of the game’s biggest stars will show out for.
The first games of the tournament begin on Halloween night. And the NBA Cup has historically been a decent indicator of future success. In 2023, the Lakers won and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. However, their adversaries in the finals, the Indiana Pacers, reached the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to the eventual champion Boston Celtics.
In 2024, the Bucks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the finals. The Bucks fell in the first round, but lost to the Pacers, who wound up reaching the NBA Finals. We all know what the Thunder wound up doing.
So, with that in mind, it’s time to start paying attention. Here’s everything to know for the NBA’s third NBA Cup tournament:
2025 NBA Cup format
NBA teams are split into six groups of five. Each team will play against one another, four games in total, with the best record in each group advancing to the knockout stages. Should multiple teams be tied record-wise after the four group stage games, the following tiebreakers will be implemented in order:
Head-to-head record
Point differential
Total points scored
Win-loss record from the previous NBA regular season
Random selection
2025 NBA Cup prize pool
Prize money will only be handed out to players on teams that advance to the knockout stages. Here is what each player earns depending on how far their team gets in the tournament:
Quarterfinals: $51,497
Semifinals: $102,994
Runner-up: $205,988
NBA Cup winners: $514,971 each
2025 NBA Cup groups
The NBA Cup groups are determined by putting all 15 teams in each conference into five pots. Each pot contains one of each of the following:
A team that finished the previous regular season as a top-three seed in conference
A team that finished the previous regular season ranked 4-6 in conference
A team that finished the previous regular season ranked 7-9 in conference
A team that finished the previous regular season ranked 10-12 in conference
A team that finished the previous regular season 13-15 in conference
One member of each pot is drawn randomly and thrown into a singular group. Here is how the groups fell this year:
East A: Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards
East B: Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers
East C: New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets
West A: Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz
West B: Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans
West C: Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs
West C stands out as one of the most talented groups. The Houston Rockets finished last year in second place in the Western Conference and added Kevin Durant in the offseason. The Nuggets are perennial championship contenders as well, and the Warriors were one of the toughest team in the NBA after adding Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline.
The San Antonio Spurs are no slouch either. They may not have performed well last year, but much of their shortcomings were due to the absence of Victor Wembanyama. He returns this year, alongside a litany of talented young players. The Spurs certainly aren’t slouches.
2025 NBA Cup winner odds
*All odds provided are via BetMGM
Oklahoma City Thunder (+400)
New York Knicks (+600)
Cleveland Cavaliers (+700)
Denver Nuggets (+1100)
Orlando Magic (+1200)
Houston Rockets (+1400)
Minnesota Timberwolves (+1600)
Golden State Warriors (+1600)
Los Angeles Clippers (+2000)
Detroit Pistons (+2000)
Atlanta Hawks (+2000)
Los Angeles Lakers (+2500)
Milwaukee Bucks (+2500)
San Antonio Spurs (+2500)
Philadelphia 76ers (+2500)
Boston Celtics (+4000)
Indiana Pacers (+6600)
Dallas Mavericks (+6600)
Toronto Raptors (+6600)
Memphis Grizzlies (+8000)
Chicago Bulls (+10000)
Miami Heat (+10000)
New Orleans Pelicans (+10000)
Sacramento Kings (+12500)
Phoenix Suns (+15000)
Portland Trail Blazers (+25000)
Charlotte Hornets (+25000)
Brooklyn Nets (+50000)
Washington Wizards (+50000)
Utah Jazz (+50000)
2025 NBA Cup full schedule
*All times Eastern
Group Play
Oct. 31
Atlanta Hawks @ Indiana Pacers, 7 p.m.
Boston Celtics @ Philadelphia 76ers, 7 p.m.
Toronto Raptors @ Cleveland Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m.
New York Knicks @ Chicago Bulls, 8 p.m.
Los Angeles Lakers @ Memphis Grizzlies, 9:30 p.m.
Utah Jazz @ Phoenix Suns, 10 p.m.
Denver Nuggets @ Portland Trail Blazers, 10 p.m.
New Orleans Pelicans @ Los Angeles Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
Nov. 7
Cleveland Cavaliers @ Washington Wizards, 7 p.m.
Boston Celtics @ Orlando Magic, 7 p.m.
Detroit Pistons @ Brooklyn Nets, 7:30 p.m.
Houston Rockets @ San Antonio Spurs, 7:30 p.m.
Toronto Raptors @ Atlanta Hawks, 7:30 p.m.
Charlotte Hornets @ Miami Heat, 8 p.m.
Utah Jazz @ Minnesota Timberwolves, 8 p.m.
Dallas Mavericks @ Memphis Grizzlies, 8 p.m.
Chicago Bulls @ Milwaukee Bucks, 8 p.m.
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Sacramento Kings, 10 p.m.
Golden State Warriors @ Denver Nuggets, 10 p.m.
Nov. 14
Brooklyn Nets @ Orlando Magic, 7 p.m.
Miami Heat @ New York Knicks, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia 76ers @ Detroit Pistons, 7:30 p.m.
Charlotte Hornets @ Milwaukee Bucks, 8 p.m.
Portland Trail Blazers @ Houston Rockets, 8 p.m.
Los Angeles Lakers @ New Orleans Pelicans, 8 p.m.
Sacramento Kings @ Minnesota Timberwolves, 8 p.m.
Los Angeles Clippers @ Dallas Mavericks, 8:30 p.m.
Golden State Warriors @ San Antonio Spurs, 9:30 p.m.
Nov. 21
Indiana Pacers @ Cleveland Cavaliers, 7 p.m.
Washington Wizards @ Toronto Raptors, 7:30 p.m.
Brooklyn Nets @ Boston Celtics, 7:30 p.m.
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls, 8 p.m.
New Orleans Pelicans @ Dallas Mavericks, 8:30 p.m.
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Phoenix Suns, 9 p.m.
Denver Nuggets @ Houston Rockets, 9:30 p.m.
Portland Trail Blazers @ Golden State Warriors, 10 p.m.
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Utah Jazz, 10 p.m.
Nov. 25
Atlanta Hawks @ Washington Wizards, 7 p.m.
Orlando Magic @ Philadelphia 76ers, 8 p.m.
Los Angeles Clippers @ Los Angeles Lakers, 11 p.m.
Nov. 26
Detroit Pistons @ Boston Celtics, 5 p.m.
New York Knicks @ Charlotte Hornets, 7 p.m.
Indiana Pacers @ Toronto Raptors, 7:30 p.m.
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Oklahoma City Thunder, 7:30 p.m.
Milwaukee Bucks @ Miami Heat, 7:30 p.m.
Memphis Grizzlies @ New Orleans Pelicans, 8 p.m.
Houston Rockets @ Golden State Warriors, 10 p.m.
San Antonio Spurs @ Portland Trail Blazers, 10 p.m.
Phoenix Suns @ Sacramento Kings, 10 p.m.
Nov. 28
Cleveland Cavaliers @ Atlanta Hawks, 7:30 p.m.
Chicago Bulls @ Charlotte Hornets, 7:30 p.m.
Milwaukee Bucks @ New York Knicks, 7:30 p.m.
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons, 7:30 p.m.
Philadelphia 76ers @ Brooklyn Nets, 7:30 p.m.
Washington Wizards @ Indiana Pacers, 7:30 p.m.
Phoenix Suns @ Oklahoma City Thunder, 9:30 p.m.
Sacramento Kings @ Utah Jazz, 9:30 p.m.
San Antonio Spurs @ Denver Nuggets, 9:30 p.m.
Dallas Mavericks @ Los Angeles Lakers, 10 p.m.
Memphis Grizzlies @ Los Angeles Clippers, 10 p.m.
The knockout stages will take place on Dec. 9 and 10, with two games on each day. The semifinals will take place three days later on Dec. 13, with the finals scheduled for Dec. 16.
All games in the knockout stages will air on Prime Video.
