Suns' Court Will Look Different Tonight - Here's Why

In the past, Phoenix's court has been purple - so this is a nice change-up.

The Suns are the only team to have a primary orange-colored court in the NBA Cup, which is primarily played on either a Tuesday and Friday - though there will also be action on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Oklahoma City is the only other team in the league to prominently feature orange - though their court is dark blue with orange trim. The Knicks have their famous "New York" wordmark in orange at center court with blue as the main color.

For uniforms, the Suns will also debut their black "Statement" edition looks - which features the diagonal "Phoenix" wordmark at center court.

Reviews Are Mixed for New Phoenix Suns NBA Cup Court

The Athletic voted Phoenix's court as the sixth-best in the entire league:

"Suns up? Probably not. But other than that directionally misleading slogan, I am a fan of this court. The white 'Phoenix' lettering pops on the orange court," one contributing writer wrote.

Meanwhile, CBS Sports' Jasmyn Wimbish says the court may confuse people.

"This court should be purple. This is going to look bad on TV when people are trying to follow the basketball and realize it's difficult when it gets lost in this sea of orange," she wrote, placing the Suns at No. 19 on her list.

Sports Illustrated's Tyler Lauletta had a simple message after placing Phoenix 22nd:

"Happy Halloween everybody!"

Who is in Phoenix's NBA Cup Group?

The NBA Cup is divided into six different groups that will play each other before the tournament begins.

For Phoenix, they're in the "West A" group with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz.

How Does NBA Cup Group Play Work?

From the NBA official site:

"Each team will play four designated Group Play games – one game against each opponent in its group, with two games at home and two on the road.

"... Eight teams will advance to the Knockout Rounds: the team with the best standing in Group Play games in each of the six groups and one 'wild card' team from each conference. The wild card will be the team from each conference with the best record in Group Play games that finished second in its group."

Then, the in-season tournament officially begins.

This is the third season in which the NBA has operated the cup, and quite frankly it's done a good job of keeping regular season interest relevant during the early stages of the season while throwing in some fun wrinkles, too.

Suns NBA Cup Schedule

Friday, Oct. 31 vs Utah Jazz
Friday, Nov. 21 vs Minnesota Timberwolves
Wednesday, Nov. 26 at Sacramento Kings
Friday, Nov. 28 vs Oklahoma City Thunder

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