The 2025 Emirates NBA Cup’s first stage is nearly complete.
This week, NBA teams around the league will compete in their final group stage games. Once it’s all said and done the NBA Cup playoff picture will be complete. It may take a bit of a back seat for some sports fans given the craziness of Thanksgiving week across the sporting spectrum, with NFL, college football, and college basketball all putting on primetime showcases. But for basketball fans it will be another night of competitive hoops with unusual early-season stakes.
Here’s everything you need to know about how the NBA Cup group stage is shaping up as we enter the final games.
How the NBA Cup group stage works
As the NBA Cup is still pretty new, it would be understandable if a refresher on the rules is needed.
The first stage of the NBA Cup is the group stage. Before the season the league’s 30 teams were separated into six groups, three in each conference, containing five teams each. Over the first month of the season the teams have faced off in official NBA Cup games against other teams in their group. They play a total of four games, one against each team in their group. This Friday will bring the last round of those games.
When it’s all said and done, one team from each group will officially qualify for the NBA Cup playoffs. In addition, each conference will receive one “wild card” team. The wild card team is determined by whatever team has the best record in group play but didn’t win their group.
NBA Cup tiebreakers
In the instance multiple contenders for a playoff spot end up with the same record, either as a wild card or winner of a group stage, there are multiple sets of tiebreakers to go through in order to determine who will advance.
The tiebreakers are, in order:
Head-to-head resultsPoint differential Total points scoredWhat teams have clinched an NBA Cup playoff spot?
Entering Thanksgiving, two teams have clinched a playoff berth by winning their respective groups. The Raptors won the East’s Group A a while ago, but on Tuesday night the Lakers became the second team to clinch their group by beating the Clippers to win the West’s Group B. There’s now one team in each conference that have already qualified for NBA playoff contention.
After Wednesday’s slate of games a bunch more teams have been eliminated but the four remaining automatic berths, as well as the two wild card spots, are still up for grabs.
What teams have been eliminated from the NBA Cup?
Following Tuesday and Wednesday’s schedule of NBA Cup games, a handful of teams have officially been eliminated from contention.
In the East’s Group A, the Pacers, Hawks, and Wizards have all been eliminated; the Cavaliers are still fighting for a wild card spot with the Raptors clinching the group’s automatic playoff berth. For Group B, the 76ers were eliminated on Tuesday night. The Celtics and Nets joined them on Wednesday night. Over in Group C, the Hornets and Bulls have been eliminated.
Now let’s break down the eliminated teams by group in the other conference. The Jazz, Timberwolves, and Kings have all been eliminated in Group A. For Group B, the Mavericks and Pelicans are eliminated. In Group C, the Warriors, Rockets, and Trail Blazers were collectively eliminated thanks to Wednesday night’s results.
The field has officially been narrowed.
NBA Cup playoff contenders
The Raptors have clinched a playoff spot by winning their group and therefore automatically qualify as a top contender for this year’s NBA Cup. Toronto is running through the league right now and the new starting five of Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes, and Jakob Poetl are beginning to mesh very well. With the way they’re playing right now, the Raptors are tough to beat on any given night.
Now the Lakers can be officially considered as a threat to win the NBA Cup with their official clinching of Group B on Tuesday. Luka Dončić is playing at an MVP level and that alone would be enough to consider Los Angeles a top contender for the NBA Cup title. Add in LeBron James and Austin Reaves and the Lakers have enough firepower to hang with just about anybody. The Lakers won the first-ever edition of the competition in 2023.
Looking around the league, there have been a few other elite performers in the group stage who figure to make a serious push for the NBA Cup title. The Thunder, obviously, rank among the very best. With their sights ultimately set on championship contention, the Thunder may not push as hard as other teams to win the in-season tournament, but they might be so good it doesn’t matter; OKC has lost only one game this season overall and was the runner-up in Cup play last season.
What’s at stake in the NBA Cup entering final stage of group play
The Raptors have already clinched Group A but every other group is still up for grabs, leading to a variety of possible clinching scenarios this week.
In the East’s Group B, the Pistons and Magic will be facing off for the playoff spot on Friday. The winner will earn the playoff berth, while the loser will be potentially eligible for a wild card spot depending on tiebreakers.
In Group C, Milwaukee entered the week as frontrunners but are no longer in pole position after losing to Miami on Wednesday night. Now it’ll all come down to Friday’s results. If the Bucks beat the Knicks, then the Heat will clinch the group thanks to their tiebreaking win over the Bucks on Wednesday. But if New York prevails, the Knicks will move on to the NBA Cup playoffs because they own a tiebreaker over the Heat. In short, if the Knicks win, they’re in. If the Bucks win, the Heat advance, and Milwaukee puts itself in position to claim the Eastern Conference wild card spot.
In the West, Group A is a tight race between the Thunder and Suns. They will do battle for the Group A crown on Friday night. But both teams are undefeated in Cup play and boast quality point differentials, so a competitive game could very well result in a wild card berth for the losing side. The winner will advance regardless.
Last but not least, the West’s Group C, which comes down to a win-or-go-home game on Friday night between the Nuggets and Spurs. With OKC and Phoenix both in very strong positions to claim the Western Conference wild card spot, whoever wins the Denver-San Antonio matchup will advance, and the loser will go home. No pressure.
