NBA Cup 2026: Groups, Schedule, Format & the Indianapolis Final
Last updated: October 2026. Groups, dates and broadcast details are from the official 2026 NBA Cup schedule release. Standings join this page when group play begins.
Quick Answer
The NBA Cup 2026 starts with group play on Friday, October 30, 2026 and ends with the final on Friday, December 11, 2026 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. All 30 teams play in six groups of five; the six group winners and one wild card from each conference reach the knockout rounds, and every knockout game is on Prime Video. The Knicks are the defending champions.
Table of Contents
How the Cup works
The format is the one the league settled into over the tournament’s first three years, and it is simpler than it looks. Each conference is split into three groups of five teams, seeded by last season’s records. Every team plays the other four teams in its group once, two games at home and two on the road, on designated Cup Nights spread across late October and November. Those games count in the regular-season standings like any other night, which is the Cup’s smartest trick: nothing is an exhibition.
Win your group and you are in. Finish second and you are in a one-team race: the best runner-up in each conference, settled on record and then point differential, takes the wild card. Eight teams survive to single-elimination knockout rounds in December, and from there it is win or go home, with prize money rising at every step for the players. The one game that does not count in the standings is the final itself. It stands alone, a 83rd game staged for a trophy.
Three editions in, the tournament has a short and serious honour roll: the Lakers won the first in 2023, the Bucks beat the Thunder in 2024, and the Knicks outlasted the Spurs in 2025. Every final so far has featured a team that went on to matter in the spring, which is why coaches have stopped treating November Cup games as a curiosity.
The dates that matter
| Stage | Dates |
|---|---|
| Group play | Oct 30, Nov 6, Nov 13, Nov 20, Nov 24, Nov 25, Nov 27 |
| Quarterfinals | December 4–5 (hosted in team markets) |
| Semifinals | December 8 and/or 9 (team markets) |
| Championship | Friday, December 11 — Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis |
The final leaves Las Vegas for the first time. Hinkle Fieldhouse is one of the most storied rooms in American basketball, a 1928 fieldhouse where the light falls through windows onto the court, and staging the Cup’s championship game there is a deliberate piece of theatre: the league’s newest trophy decided in one of its oldest buildings. Expect the broadcast to lean into that, and expect tickets to be harder to get than the venue’s size suggests.
The six groups
| Group | Teams |
|---|---|
| East A | Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets |
| East B | New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers |
| East C | Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards |
| West A | Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz |
| West B | Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, LA Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies |
| West C | San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings |
Two groups jump off the page. East B stacks the defending champion Knicks against the Cavaliers, the new-look 76ers and the Heat, which means the strongest conference storyline of the autumn gets decided in November, in games that also shape the playoff picture. West C is the glamour group: Wembanyama’s Spurs, the Lakers and the Warriors in the same five, fighting for one guaranteed knockout place. Whoever finishes second there becomes the wild-card favourite, and the point-differential column will matter on the last group night, November 27, when half the league plays at once.
Standings and the running scores for every Cup Night will sit alongside the regular board on the NBA scores page once group play starts.
Where to watch
Group games are spread across the league’s national partners, NBC, ESPN, ABC, Prime Video and NBA TV among them. The knockout rounds are simpler: Prime Video carries every quarterfinal, semifinal and the championship game. If you follow one team, their local broadcast still carries their group games; if you follow the tournament, Prime Video is the subscription the December rounds demand.
Questions fans ask
When does the NBA Cup 2026 start?
Group play begins Friday, October 30, 2026, on designated Cup Nights through November 27. The final is Friday, December 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
How many teams play in the NBA Cup?
All 30. They are split into six groups of five, three per conference, and each team plays four group games, two at home and two away.
How does a team reach the knockout rounds?
The six group winners advance automatically, joined by the best second-place team in each conference as a wild card. The eight qualifiers play single-elimination games from December 4.
Do NBA Cup games count in the regular season?
Yes, all of them except the championship game. Group, quarterfinal and semifinal results all count toward the 82-game standings.
Who won the NBA Cup last year?
The New York Knicks, who beat the San Antonio Spurs 124-113 in the 2025 final. The first two editions went to the Lakers (2023) and the Bucks (2024).
What channel is the NBA Cup final on?
Prime Video carries every knockout-round game, including the December 11 championship game at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Conclusion
The Cup has earned its place: real stakes in November, a wild-card race decided on point differential, and a final in a cathedral of the sport on December 11. When group play starts on October 30, this page becomes the standings and bracket home, and the scores run on the NBA scores board every Cup Night. StreamMatch will track it from the first group game to Indianapolis.
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