The 2026 Emirates NBA Cup starts tonight, Friday, October 30, with 10 group-play games, and runs through the championship on Friday, December 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Group play is every Friday from October 30 to November 27, plus two Cup Nights on Tuesday, November 24 and Wednesday, November 25. The quarterfinals follow on December 4 and 5. The New York Knicks are the defending champions after beating the San Antonio Spurs 124-113 in last year's final, and they open their defense tonight in Philadelphia. Here are all six groups, how teams advance, every group-play date, tonight's slate with start times and TV, and where the BettorEdge community board stands.
NBA Cup 2026 groups: all 30 teams
Thirty teams, six groups of five, three groups per conference. The NBA drew the groups within each conference using 2025-26 regular-season records, and announced them on June 30. The lineups below match the NBA's official groups announcement on NBA.com, cross-checked against ESPN's Cup guide.
| Group | Teams |
|---|---|
| East Group A | Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets |
| East Group B | New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers |
| East Group C | Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards |
| West Group A | Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz |
| West Group B | Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, LA Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies |
| West Group C | San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings |
East Group B is the one with the most at stake early: it holds the defending champion Knicks, and the Knicks and 76ers meet on the opening night. West Group C puts last year's runner-up Spurs in with the Lakers and Warriors, who also play tonight.
How the NBA Cup works in 2026
Each team plays the other four teams in its group once, two games at home and two on the road, for 60 group-play games in all. Eight teams reach the knockout rounds: the six group winners plus one wild card from each conference. The wild card is the team with the best group-play record among the teams that finished second in their group.
When teams finish level, the NBA breaks the tie in this order:
- Head-to-head record in group play
- Point differential in group play
- Total points scored in group play
- Record from the 2025-26 regular season
- Random drawing
Two details matter for anyone betting these games. A game that goes to overtime counts as a point differential of zero, and overtime points do not count toward total points scored. And the wild card tiebreaker skips head-to-head, because the teams being compared come from different groups, so it goes straight to point differential.
In the knockout rounds, the two teams with the best group-play records in each conference host the quarterfinals, and the team with the best record hosts the wild card. New this season, the semifinals are also played in team markets, hosted by the higher seed, instead of at a neutral site. Only the championship game is neutral.
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NBA Cup 2026 schedule: every key date
| Round | Date |
|---|---|
| Group play, night 1 | Friday, October 30 |
| Group play, night 2 | Friday, November 6 |
| Group play, night 3 | Friday, November 13 |
| Group play, night 4 | Friday, November 20 |
| Cup Night | Tuesday, November 24 |
| Cup Night | Wednesday, November 25 |
| Group play, final night | Friday, November 27 |
| Quarterfinals | Friday, December 4 and Saturday, December 5 (team markets) |
| Semifinals | Tuesday, December 8 and/or Wednesday, December 9 (team markets) |
| Championship | Friday, December 11, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis |
Prime Video carries the championship game, along with a doubleheader on each Friday of group play. NBC has the Cup Night doubleheader on November 24 and ESPN has three games on November 25.
Tonight's NBA Cup games: times and TV (October 30)
Ten games tip off on opening night, covering all six groups. The two national games stream on Prime Video. The rest air on local team broadcasts and NBA League Pass.
| Game | Group | Tip (ET / CT / PT) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hornets at Wizards | East C | 7:00 / 6:00 / 4:00 p.m. | Local, League Pass |
| Bulls at Celtics | East C | 7:30 / 6:30 / 4:30 p.m. | Local, League Pass |
| Pistons at Nets | East A | 7:30 / 6:30 / 4:30 p.m. | Local, League Pass |
| Knicks at 76ers | East B | 7:30 / 6:30 / 4:30 p.m. | Prime Video |
| Magic at Raptors | East A | 7:30 / 6:30 / 4:30 p.m. | Local, League Pass |
| Pacers at Heat | East B | 8:00 / 7:00 / 5:00 p.m. | Local, League Pass |
| Rockets at Mavericks | West A | 8:00 / 7:00 / 5:00 p.m. | Local, League Pass |
| Clippers at Timberwolves | West B | 8:00 / 7:00 / 5:00 p.m. | Local, League Pass |
| Lakers at Warriors | West C | 10:00 / 9:00 / 7:00 p.m. | Prime Video |
| Nuggets at Suns | West A | 10:00 / 9:00 / 7:00 p.m. | Local, League Pass |
The Bucks, Hawks, Jazz, Kings, Trail Blazers, Spurs, Thunder, Pelicans, Grizzlies and Cavaliers sit out group play tonight. With five teams in a group, not every team plays every Cup night.
The betting angle: why margin matters in the Cup
Cup games are regular-season games. Every group-play and knockout game counts in the standings. The only exception is the championship game, which sits outside the regular season, so the two finalists play 83 games but only 82 count. A Cup win or loss is a real win or loss in the standings race.
Point differential is the tiebreaker that changes behavior. In a normal regular-season game, a team up 20 with four minutes left empties the bench. In the Cup, that margin can decide a group or a wild card spot, so a coach has a reason to keep pushing in a game that is already decided. That is the dynamic to keep in mind with spreads and totals in Cup games, especially in the fourth quarter. It cuts both ways: the trailing team also has a reason to keep fighting, because every point it saves helps its own differential.
Overtime resets the margin to zero. Because an overtime game counts as a zero point differential, a team that wins by 12 in overtime gets no differential credit for it. Late in a close game, that can make a team more willing to chase a regulation result than to play for overtime.
The incentive sharpens as group play ends. By the Cup Nights and the final Friday, November 27, most teams will know exactly what they need: a win, a win by a certain margin, or nothing at all. A team already eliminated and a team chasing a margin are playing two different games, and that is worth checking before you back either side. A team that has already clinched can also ease off.
None of this is a system. It is a reason to read the group standings before you read the line. The NBA betting guide covers spreads, moneylines and totals if you are new to basketball markets.
Where the BettorEdge community board stands
As of 2:22 p.m. ET on Friday, October 30, the BettorEdge community board had moneyline prices posted on eight of tonight's ten Cup games, with one side missing on a ninth. Prices move up to tip, so treat these as a snapshot.
| Game | BettorEdge community odds | Implied probability |
|---|---|---|
| Hornets at Wizards | Hornets -104, Wizards -108 | 51% / 52% |
| Bulls at Celtics | Bulls +614, Celtics -809 | 14% / 89% |
| Pistons at Nets | Pistons -285, no community price posted on the Nets | 74% / - |
| Knicks at 76ers | Knicks -122, 76ers +108 | 55% / 48% |
| Magic at Raptors | Magic +186, Raptors -203 | 35% / 67% |
| Pacers at Heat | Pacers +245, Heat -300 | 29% / 75% |
| Rockets at Mavericks | Rockets -233, Mavericks +194 | 70% / 34% |
| Clippers at Timberwolves | No community price posted | - |
| Lakers at Warriors | Lakers -144, Warriors +127 | 59% / 44% |
| Nuggets at Suns | Nuggets -170, Suns +156 | 63% / 39% |
Each pair adds up to a little over 100%, which is the gap between the best offer on each side, not a house margin. The defending champions go into Philadelphia as a modest road favorite, the Hornets and Wizards game is close to a coin flip, and the Celtics are the biggest favorite on the board. Run any price through the implied probability calculator or the moneyline calculator before you compare it to your own number. For the bigger picture, the BettorEdge NBA hub has every game on the board and NBA championship odds tracks the title race.
Back an NBA Cup game on BettorEdge
Ten games tonight, the defending champs on the road in Philadelphia, and a tiebreaker that rewards running up the score. Get your action on BettorEdge and back your side against another real bettor at a community price, peer to peer and without the house, with up to $100 available when you verify your ID and no deposit needed.
NBA Cup 2026 FAQ
What are the 2026 NBA Cup groups?
East Group A is the Pistons, Raptors, Magic, Bucks and Nets; East Group B is the Knicks, Cavaliers, 76ers, Heat and Pacers; East Group C is the Celtics, Hawks, Hornets, Bulls and Wizards; West Group A is the Nuggets, Rockets, Suns, Mavericks and Jazz; West Group B is the Thunder, Timberwolves, Clippers, Pelicans and Grizzlies; and West Group C is the Spurs, Lakers, Trail Blazers, Warriors and Kings. Each team plays the other four teams in its group once.
When does the 2026 NBA Cup start and end?
The 2026 NBA Cup starts Friday, October 30 and ends with the championship on Friday, December 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Group play runs on Fridays through November 27, plus Cup Nights on November 24 and 25, and the quarterfinals are December 4 and 5.
How do teams advance in the NBA Cup?
The six group winners and one wild card from each conference, the second-place team with the best group-play record, advance to the eight-team knockout rounds. Ties are broken by head-to-head record, then point differential, then total points scored, then 2025-26 record, then a random drawing.
Do NBA Cup games count in the standings?
Yes, every NBA Cup game counts in the regular-season standings except the championship game. The two finalists play 83 games, but only 82 count.
Compare prices before tip-off
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Bet the futures market against real people.
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