NBA Announces Groups, Schedule for 2025 Emirates Cup Games

The NBA has revealed the official groups for the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup, the league’s annual in-season tournament. This marks the second year of the competition, which debuted in 2024 and was won by the Milwaukee Bucks last season.

The tournament will once again feature all 30 teams, split into six groups of five based on last season’s regular-season standings. Teams were divided into five tiers within each conference and drawn randomly to form balanced groups.

Here are the official groups for the 2025 edition:

Western Conference

• Group A: Oklahoma City Thunder (1), Minnesota Timberwolves (6), Sacramento Kings (9), Phoenix Suns (11), Utah Jazz (15)

• Group B: Los Angeles Lakers (3), Los Angeles Clippers (5), Memphis Grizzlies (8), Dallas Mavericks (10), New Orleans Pelicans (14)

• Group C: Houston Rockets (2), Denver Nuggets (4), Golden State Warriors (7), Portland Trail Blazers (12), San Antonio Spurs (13)

Eastern Conference

• Group A: Cleveland Cavaliers (1), Indiana Pacers (4), Atlanta Hawks (8), Toronto Raptors (11), Washington Wizards (15)

• Group B: Boston Celtics (2), Detroit Pistons (6), Orlando Magic (7), Brooklyn Nets (12), Philadelphia 76ers (13)

• Group C: New York Knicks (3), Milwaukee Bucks (5), Chicago Bulls (9), Miami Heat (10), Charlotte Hornets (14)

Group play will begin earlier this year, running from October 31 through November 28. Each team will face the other four clubs in its group once. The six group winners, along with one wild card from each conference, will advance to the eight-team, single-elimination knockout round.

The quarterfinals will be held on December 9–10, with the semifinals and championship game taking place in Las Vegas on December 13 and 16, respectively. All knockout round games will be broadcast on Amazon Prime, one of the NBA’s new media partners.

Last year’s inaugural tournament concluded with the Bucks defeating the Thunder in the final, with Giannis Antetokounmpo taking home MVP honors for his dominant two-way performance.

A full breakdown of the 2025 group play schedule can be viewed on the NBA’s official site.