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NBA Announces Group Play Schedule For Emirates NBA Cup 2024
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All posts by James FoglioUpdated13 Aug 2024
The NBA released its complete game schedule and national television schedule for group play of the Emirates NBA Cup 2024. The complete game schedule and national broadcast schedule for the 2024-25 regular season will be unveiled on Thursday, Aug. 15.
Group play games will take place on Tuesdays and Fridays from Nov. 12 through Dec. 3. During these “Cup Nights,” the only NBA games scheduled will be group play games.
TNT and ESPN will combine to air 14 games and NBA TV will televise three games in this first stage of the Emirates NBA Cup, previously named the NBA In-Season Tournament.
Each NBA team will play four designated group play games – one game against each opponent in its group, with two games at home and two games on the road.
All 30 teams were randomly drawn into groups of five within their conference based on win-loss records from the 2023-24 regular season.
Emirates NBA Cup 2024 Groups
The first Cup Night (Tuesday, Nov. 12) will feature a doubleheader on TNT, beginning with the Philadelphia 76ers hosting the New York Knicks in a rematch of a first-round playoff series from last season.
In last season’s playoff matchup, the Knicks outscored the Sixers by one point over six games. The East Group A rivalry game will air live at 7:30 p.m. ET.
For the second game, the defending Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks will visit the Golden State Warriors as four-time NBA champ Klay Thompson returns to Chase Center to face his former team (West Group C; 10 p.m. ET).
ESPN will tip off its group play coverage with a doubleheader on Friday, Nov. 15. The defending Emirates NBA Cup champion Los Angeles Lakers – who went 7-0 and defeated the Indiana Pacers in the championship in last season’s tournament – visit the San Antonio Spurs (West Group B; 7:30 p.m. ET).
Indiana Pacers will face the Milwaukee Bucks in Group Play in the first game of ESPN’s doubleheader on Friday, Nov. 22
The Warriors then host the Memphis Grizzlies (West Group C; 10 p.m. ET). On Tuesday, Nov. 19, TNT’s doubleheader will open with the Cleveland Cavaliers visiting the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals series (East Group C; 7 p.m. ET).
Additionally, the Spurs led by 2023-24 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama are hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder, last season’s No. 1 seed in the Western Conference (West Group B; 9:30 p.m. ET).
After facing each other in the NBA In-Season Tournament semifinals and the first round of the NBA playoffs last season, the Pacers and the Milwaukee Bucks will meet in group play in the first game of ESPN’s doubleheader on Friday, Nov. 22 at Fiserv Forum (East Group B; 7:30 p.m. ET).
The 2022-23 NBA champion Denver Nuggets then host the Mavericks (West Group C; 10 p.m. ET). Two group play rematches from last season will highlight TNT’s doubleheader on Tuesday, Nov. 26. Milwaukee is visiting the Miami Heat (East Group B; 7:30 p.m. ET), and the Phoenix Suns are hosting the Lakers (West Group B; 10 p.m. ET).
The Suns also faced the Lakers in the NBA In-Season Tournament Quarterfinals last season. The group play schedule will feature five nationally televised games on Friday, Nov. 29, beginning with a tripleheader on NBA TV: New York at Charlotte Hornets (East Group A; noon ET), Cleveland at Atlanta Hawks (East Group C; 2:30 p.m. ET), and the New Orleans Pelicans at Memphis (West Group C; 5 p.m. ET).
NBA Cup Schedule Highlights
| Matchup | Date |
| Knicks at 76ers | Nov. 12 |
| Mavericks at Warriors | Nov. 12 |
| Lakers at Spurs | Nov. 15 |
| Grizzlies at Warriors | Nov. 15 |
| Cavaliers at Celtics | Nov. 19 |
| Thunder at Spurs | Nov. 19 |
| Pacers at Bucks | Nov. 22 |
| Mavericks at Nuggets | Nov. 22 |
| Bucks at Heat | Nov. 26 |
| Lakers at Suns | Nov. 26 |
| Clippers at Timberwolves | Nov. 29 |
| Thunder at Lakers | Nov. 29 |
| Knicks at Hornets | Nov. 29 |
| Cavaliers at Hawks | Nov. 29 |
| Pelicans at Grizzlies | Nov. 29 |
| Magic at Knicks | Dec. 3 |
| Warriors at Nuggets | Dec. 3 |
| Quarterfinals (at higher seed) | Dec. 10-11 |
| Semifinals (Las Vegas) | Dec. 14 |
| Championship (Las Vegas) | Dec. 17 |
Moreover, ESPN will conclude its group play telecasts with a doubleheader as the Los Angeles Clippers visit the Minnesota Timberwolves (West Group A; 7:30 p.m. ET), and the Lakers host the Thunder (West Group B; 10 p.m. ET).
On the final day of group play (Tuesday, Dec. 3), TNT will present a doubleheader with the Knicks squaring off against the Orlando Magic in New York (East Group A; 7:30 p.m. ET), followed by the Warriors taking on the Nuggets in Denver in a matchup of NBA champions from the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, respectively (West Group C; 10 p.m. ET).
Knockout rounds will consist of single-elimination games in the Emirates NBA Cup quarterfinals
Eight teams (four per conference) will advance from group play into the second and final stage of the Emirates NBA Cup 2024. The final stage is essentially the knockout rounds: the six group winners and two “wild cards.”
In fact, the wild cards will be the team from each conference with the best record in group play games that finished second in its group.
Furthermore, the knockout rounds will consist of single-elimination games in the Emirates NBA Cup quarterfinals (Tuesday, Dec. 10 and Wednesday, Dec. 11), semifinals (Saturday, Dec. 14) and championship (Tuesday, Dec. 17). The national broadcast schedule for the knockout rounds will be announced at a later date.
The higher-seeded teams will host the quarterfinals. Of course, the semifinals and championship will take place at T-Mobile Arena, a neutral site in Las Vegas.
