Feb 21, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives against Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3) during the second quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Utah Jazz Draw Thunder, Timberwolves for NBA In-Season Tournament

Originally posted on Utah Jazz on SI | By Jared Koch | Last updated Jul 9, 2025 3:43 PM ET

The NBA has officially drawn the six groups for this year's NBA Cup, where the Utah Jazz now know the four teams they'll be facing within the group stage for the third-annual In-Season Tournament later this October.

According to a release from the NBA, the Jazz will be facing off against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings, and Phoenix Suns during the group stage of this year's NBA Cup.

Get Ready!

The 2025 #EmiratesNBACup groups are here and we'll be battling in !

It all starts October 31 #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/WoGMwWYrtn
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) July 9, 2025

It'll be the Jazz's third go at the NBA Cup this time, and will face a couple of familiar faces during their showings this year–– as both the Suns and Thunder were a part of their group stage in 2024, both games Utah ultimately dropped.

And this season, it could be another challenging try for the Jazz in their four contests, especially when centering around the Thunder and Timberwolves, who are fresh off an NBA Finals appearance and Western Conference Finals appearance, respectively.

However, alongside Oklahoma City and Minnesota, the Jazz have two new teams with Sacramento and Phoenix, whom they haven't faced in either of their past two NBA Cups, and two other squads who could prove to be a better matchup for Utah than the aforementioned two.

During the group stage, each team plays four games, counting towards both the NBA Cup standings and the regular season standings. Whoever wins each group advances to the knockout rounds along with two wildcard teams from each conference.

The #EmiratesNBACup 2025 Group Draw results!

Starting October 31, all 30 teams will compete for the NBA Cup with 8 teams advancing out of groups into the knockout rounds, with the semifinals and championship held in Las Vegas, December 13 and 16! pic.twitter.com/VJur4Hv0lL
— NBA (@NBA) July 9, 2025

In last year's tournament, it was the Thunder who wound up making their way to the final game of the NBA Cup, yet fell to the Milwaukee Bucks for who would eventually be crowned champions, and now with a title under their belt, perhaps Oklahoma City could have that extra edge to take home the hardware this season.

Or just maybe, there could be an underdog story underway for the Jazz and their newly-formed young crew from this summer.

The action kicks off for the Jazz and the rest of the league on October 31st for this year's NBA Cup, with the official schedule of games set to be unveiled later this offseason.