Update (October 29, 2026): This article has been updated with the latest info about the NBA Cup.
The NBA regular season has only gotten more heated with the league’s emerging in-season tradition: the Emirates NBA Cup. In 2026, the league-wide tournament marks its fourth season with the title game taking place at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, the historic home of Butler University.
Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ inaugural victory in 2023, the Milwaukee Bucks’ win in 2024 and the New York Knicks’ title in 2025, all 30 teams return to compete to be crowned the next tournament champion. Beginning Friday, Oct. 30 and continuing through Friday, Nov. 27, each team will play four designated Group Play games on “Cup Nights.” The tournament culminates with a winner-take-all Championship. Learn how Group Play and the Knockout Rounds work, see the 2026 Emirates NBA Cup groups and find tickets to the Emirates NBA Cup Championship at Ticketmaster.
What is the Emirates NBA Cup?
The Emirates NBA Cup, formerly the NBA In-Season Tournament, is the league’s annual in-season competition. Each of the NBA’s 30 teams takes part in the tournament during the regular season, playing Group Play games on designated “Cup Nights” in October and November before the single-elimination Knockout Rounds in December. Every tournament game except the Emirates NBA Cup Championship counts toward each team’s regular-season record, and teams still play a full 82-game schedule.
Introduced in 2023, the tournament was the league’s first major schedule format change since the Play-In Tournament that debuted in the 2020-21 season. The Cup took on its current name in 2024.
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What is the format of the Emirates NBA Cup?
The Emirates NBA Cup has two stages: Group Play and the single-elimination Knockout Rounds. For Group Play, the league splits its 30 teams into six groups of five, with three groups in each conference. Each team plays the four other teams in its group once, with two games at home and two on the road. These games take place on “Cup Nights,” mostly Fridays, from late October through November.
After Group Play, eight teams advance to the Knockout Rounds: the six group winners and one wild card from each conference. The wild card goes to the second-place team with the best Group Play record in its conference. If teams finish tied, the NBA breaks the tie using, in order, head-to-head record in Group Play, Group Play point differential, total Group Play points, 2025-26 regular-season record and, if needed, a random drawing. Overtime points don’t count toward the point differential or total points tiebreakers.
The Knockout Rounds run as separate East and West brackets. In each conference, the top two seeds host the Quarterfinals, with the No. 1 seed hosting the wild card. New for 2026, the Semifinals are also played at the higher seed’s home arena, replacing the neutral-site Semifinals of past tournaments. The two conference champions then meet in the Emirates NBA Cup 2026 Championship at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
How are Emirates NBA Cup groups determined?
Emirates NBA Cup groups are set by a seeded random draw. Within each conference, the league ranks its 15 teams by the previous season’s win-loss record and divides them into five “pots” of three teams. Pot 1 consists of the conference’s top three teams and Pot 2 holds the next three in descending order, continuing through Pot 5. One team from each pot is then drawn at random into each of the conference’s three groups, so every group mixes top, middle and bottom finishers from last season. The 2026 groups were announced on Tuesday, June 30.
Emirates NBA Cup Groups
Western Conference
West Group A
West Group B
West Group C
Eastern Conference
East Group A
East Group B
East Group C
Why does the NBA have a midseason tournament?
The Emirates NBA Cup was introduced as the In-Season Tournament in 2023 to give players another competition, engage fans in a new way and draw interest in the early part of the regular season. Typically, primetime NBA games within that stretch compete for sports fans’ attention while the NFL, NHL and college football are in full swing. During its official unveiling on July 8, 2023, Commissioner Adam Silver told ESPN, “New traditions take time. But, all throughout sports, we are seeing new innovations, and now is the time for this NBA In-Season Tournament.”
Since its debut, a connection has developed between Cup success and deep postseason runs. The first two tournament runners-up, the Indiana Pacers in the inaugural 2023 In-Season Tournament Championship and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup Championship, met in the 2025 NBA Finals, where the Thunder won the series in seven games. During the 2025-26 NBA season, the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs met in both the Cup title game and the NBA Finals, and the Knicks won both to become the first team to claim the Cup and the NBA title in the same season.
Emirates NBA Cup FAQs
How many rounds are in the Emirates NBA Cup?
The Emirates NBA Cup has two stages: Group Play and the Knockout Rounds. Group Play runs for about a month, from late October through November, with each team playing four games. The single-elimination Knockout Rounds then cover three rounds: the Quarterfinals, the Semifinals and the Emirates NBA Cup Championship.
When is the 2026 Emirates NBA Cup?
The 2026 Emirates NBA Cup runs from Friday, October 30 through Friday, December 11. Group Play “Cup Nights” take place every Friday from October 30 through November 27, with additional Cup Nights on Tuesday, November 24 and Wednesday, November 25.
The Knockout Rounds begin with the Quarterfinals on Friday, December 4 and Saturday, December 5. The Semifinals are tentatively set for Tuesday, December 8 and Wednesday, December 9, followed by the Emirates NBA Cup 2026 Championship at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Friday, December 11.
Where does the Emirates NBA Cup take place?
Every Emirates NBA Cup game except the title game is played in NBA team markets. Group Play follows regular-season scheduling, with each team hosting two of its four group opponents. In the Knockout Rounds, the Quarterfinals and Semifinals are played at the home arena of the higher-seeded team.
The Emirates NBA Cup 2026 Championship will be played at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas hosted the Semifinals and title games for the first three tournaments, from 2023 to 2025.
Why did the Emirates NBA Cup Championship move to Hinkle Fieldhouse?
The NBA chose Hinkle Fieldhouse as part of a multiyear plan to bring the Emirates NBA Cup Championship to “distinctive stages that honor the sport’s history while connecting with audiences around the world.” Opened in 1928, the 9,100-seat arena was home to NBA teams during the league’s early years and hosted the 1954 Indiana high school state championship that inspired the 1986 film Hoosiers. In 1955, Oscar Robertson led Crispus Attucks High School to a state title there, making the team the nation’s first all-Black basketball state champion.
Today, Hinkle Fieldhouse is home to Butler men’s basketball and Butler women’s basketball.
How many teams will make the tournament?
All 30 teams compete in Group Play, and eight advance to the Knockout Rounds with four from each conference. Each conference sends its three group winners plus one wild card: the second-place team with the best Group Play record.
What happens to teams that don’t make the Knockout Rounds?
The 22 teams that don’t advance still play a full 82-game regular season. Each one plays two additional regular-season games from Sunday, December 6 through Thursday, December 10, on nights without Emirates NBA Cup games.
What do the winners of the Emirates NBA Cup receive?
Along with the honor of raising the NBA Cup, each player on the championship team receives more than $500,000. The rest of the prize pool goes to players on the other Knockout Round teams: more than $200,000 each for the runner-up, more than $100,000 each for Semifinalists and more than $50,000 each for Quarterfinalists.
After the Emirates NBA Cup Championship, a media panel selects the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and All-Tournament Team based on performances in both Group Play and the Knockout Rounds.
Which teams have won the Emirates NBA Cup?
The New York Knicks are the reigning Emirates NBA Cup champions after beating the San Antonio Spurs, 124-113, in 2025. At the end of the same season, the two teams met again in the 2026 NBA Finals, and the Knicks came out on top to become the first team to win both the Cup and the NBA title in a single season.
In 2023, the Los Angeles Lakers won the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament with a 123-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers. The following season, the Milwaukee Bucks claimed the Emirates NBA Cup title over the Oklahoma City Thunder, 97-81.
How do I buy Emirates NBA Cup tickets?
Tickets to the Emirates NBA Cup are available via Ticketmaster, the Official Ticket Marketplace of the NBA. For the market-specific games in Group Play, Quarterfinal and Semifinal rounds, browse NBA tickets or check your favorite team’s individual Ticketmaster page. Fans can also find tickets to the Emirates NBA Cup 2026 Championship at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Friday, December 11.
The post Halfway to Glory: The Emirates NBA Cup In-Season Tournament Explained appeared first on Ticketmaster Blog.
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