NBA Cup takeaways: Lakers clinch behind Doncic, Reaves and James

The third iteration of the Emirates NBA Cup continues as group play wraps up this week and the knockout-round matchups begin to take shape

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers won the inaugural in-season tournament trophy in 2023, with James claiming the honors of tournament MVP. Last season, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks raised their NBA Cup banner over the eventual NBA champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

But which team will stake its claim for the hardware in Las Vegas this year, and can it continue that tournament momentum into the postseason?

Here’s what you need to know about the in-season tournament, including rule changes for this year, takeaways from the week’s biggest games, schedule and scores.

Jump to:
Takeaways | FAQ | Schedule | Cup standings

Nov. 25: Lakers 135, Clippers 118

Two years ago, the Los Angeles Lakers became the first team to win the NBA Cup.

On Tuesday night, they officially clinched a chance to become the first team to win it a second time.

Behind the latest sensational performance from Luka Doncic (43 points, 9 rebounds and 13 assists, including a 32-point explosion in the first half) plus 31 points from Austin Reaves and 25 points from LeBron James, the Lakers eventually wore down the LA Clippers, becoming the first Western Conference team to earn an NBA Cup playoff spot in the process.

The game was a nip-and-tuck affair through the first three quarters, then tempers flared late in the fourth quarter after a foul by Kris Dunn on Doncic, eventually leading to a shoving match between Dunn and Lakers center Jaxson Hayes that resulted in Dunn being ejected.

That, though, was only one part of a night that saw the Lakers continue their brilliant start to the season, as they improved to 13-4 and moved into a tie with the Denver Nuggets for the second-best record in the Western Conference.

Of short-term importance, though, was securing one of the four Cup playoff spots in the Western Conference portion of the bracket.

Doing so means that the Lakers, if they win Friday at home against the Dallas Mavericks, will guarantee themselves a home game in the quarterfinals of the tournament, putting them on a favorable path to return to Las Vegas.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Conference featured a pair of blowouts — including one of the most surprising results of the entire season.

The Washington Wizards — who entered Tuesday’s action with a 1-15 record and a staggering negative 15.5 net rating — blew out the Atlanta Hawks, winning 132-113 in a game they led by as many as 29 points to earn their first-ever NBA Cup win.

To show how much that win was an outlier: It improved the Wizards’ season-long net rating by two entire points per 100 possessions in one night.

Atlanta had entered the game with a chance to be the wild-card team out of the East. Instead, the Hawks are virtually eliminated heading into Friday’s final group stage game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Orlando Magic, on the other hand, destroyed the injury-ravaged Philadelphia 76ers, winning 144-103 to move to 3-0 in East Group B, setting up a winner-take-all game Friday in Detroit against the East-leading Pistons.

Because the Magic won this game by such a ridiculous margin, they now have a plus-61 scoring margin — the highest of any team in the Eastern Conference and second only to the Oklahoma City Thunder (plus-63) in the NBA.

Here’s a look at where things stand across both conferences in Cup action heading into Wednesday’s penultimate day of group stage action:

Teams that have clinched a spot in the playoffs:

East: Toronto Raptors (Group A winner)
West: Los Angeles Lakers (Group B winner)

What’s at stake Wednesday

East Group A:

The Raptors have clinched the group and play their final game at home against the cellar-dwelling Indiana Pacers. With a plus-53 point differential, it looked like Toronto would be the clear favorite to have the best point differential of any team in the East, and potentially any team in the league, heading into the knockout rounds before Orlando’s big night. A big win over Indiana, however, could still put the Raptors in pole position to earn the top seed.

East Group B:

No matter what happens in Pistons-Celtics on Wednesday in Boston, the winner of Friday’s game in Detroit between the Magic and Pistons will be the winner of this group. If the Pistons can win a franchise-record 14th consecutive game, however, it would give them a chance to be the top overall seed — though with a plus-27 point differential, they have a lot of work to do to catch Toronto.

A Pistons win would also mean only six teams would be alive to fill the final three spots: Orlando, Detroit, Cleveland, the Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat and New York Knicks.

East Group C:

Arguably, the game of the entire night across the Association Wednesday is in Miami, where Giannis Antetokounmpo has been upgraded to questionable with his groin strain for the Bucks, who are looking to advance to the Cup playoffs for a third consecutive season.

A win for the Bucks would eliminate the Heat and clinch the group for Milwaukee if it is also paired with a Knicks loss in Charlotte on Wednesday or with a Bucks win at Madison Square Garden on Friday.

A Miami victory would also clinch the group for the Heat with a Knicks loss either to Charlotte on Wednesday or to the Bucks on Friday. Already armed with a plus-46 point differential, Miami would also have a strong chance at a wild-card spot if it can beat Milwaukee on Wednesday.

For the Knicks, the other team besides the Bucks to make the playoffs in each of the first two seasons of this event — though unlike Milwaukee, the Knicks failed to reach Las Vegas in either of those first two trips — their fate this week is entirely in their hands. Because the Knicks previously beat Miami, wins over Charlotte on Wednesday and Milwaukee on Friday will guarantee they win the group, no matter what else happens.

West Group A:

With under a minute to go on Friday in Phoenix, it looked like Wednesday’s game between the Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves would be for all the marbles in this group. But then Minnesota had a catastrophic collapse and lost to the Suns and now finds itself all but certainly eliminated from advancing if it loses in OKC, despite currently boasting a gaudy plus-53 point differential.

The Thunder, meanwhile, are virtually assured of being the top seed in the West with wins over the Timberwolves on Wednesday and the Suns on Friday. Phoenix will improve to 3-0 and have a strong chance to at least be the wild card with a win against Sacramento on Wednesday.

West Group B:

The Lakers clinched this group with a win Tuesday night. But if Memphis can defeat the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday and the Clippers on Friday, the Grizzlies will be 3-1 and have a chance to get the wild card.

West Group C:

If the Portland Trail Blazers beat the San Antonio Spurs at home on Wednesday, they’ll clinch this group. If San Antonio wins, however, then the winner of Friday’s game in Denver between the Spurs and Nuggets will win the group. — Tim Bontemps

Nov. 25 scores:

Wizards 132, Hawks 113
76ers 136, Magic 124
Lakers 135, Clippers 118

FAQ (by Tim Bontemps)

The NBA unveiled the six groups for the third edition of its in-season tournament — now called the Emirates NBA Cup. Here’s a look at everything you’ll need to know about the return of the competition.

What is the format?

NBA commissioner Adam Silver has had a long-standing fascination with European soccer. Establishing an in-season cup competition within the NBA schedule came from soccer leagues having both a regular-season title, won by the team with the most points over the full year, and a separate tournament (or, in some leagues, multiple tournaments) that runs concurrently with the league season. In England, for example, there are the various divisions — led by the Premier League — and also the FA Cup competition. But unlike those European leagues, which play their cup competitions outside of their league schedules, the NBA Cup is built into the regular-season slate. The 30 NBA teams are split into six five-team groups — three featuring Eastern Conference teams, and three comprising Western Conference teams — with each team then playing one game against the other four in its group. The winner of each group, plus the team with the best record among the non-group winners, will then advance to the knockout stage of the competition.

How will this impact the regular-season schedule and standings?

Typically, the NBA sends out a full 82-game schedule in mid-August. Now, the league sends out only 80 games and leaves a gap for roughly a week to fill in later, depending on how the group stage of the NBA Cup plays out.

The two teams from the East and West that lose in the quarterfinals will play their 82nd game against one another on one of four dates: Dec. 11, 12, 14 or 15. Meanwhile, the 22 teams that fail to qualify for the knockout rounds will have their final two games scheduled — one at home and one on the road — on Dec. 11 or 12 and 14 or 15 against others eliminated in the group stage.

The teams that reach the NBA Cup’s finale will actually play 83 games — though the championship game won’t count toward the standings or any statistical markers. All four teams that make it to Las Vegas for the semifinals will have completed their 82 games, and won’t need anything else added. The additional wrinkle added to this year’s schedule is the possibility that a few dates on the calendar may move around. On Dec. 8, there are currently three games scheduled: the Sacramento Kings at the Indiana Pacers; the Phoenix Suns at the Minnesota Timberwolves; and the San Antonio Spurs at the New Orleans Pelicans. If any of those teams are playing in the quarterfinals, taking place on Dec. 9 and 10, those games would move to Dec. 7 (a decision that would be made by Nov. 29, the day after the end of the group stage).

This also would only be an issue if one of the teams were playing on Dec. 9. If they’re playing Dec. 10, nothing will change. The other scheduling quirk is that there are currently eight teams — the Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, LA Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and Washington Wizards — scheduled to play on Dec. 17, the day after the championship game in Las Vegas.

Any team that makes it to the semifinals in Las Vegas would have that game moved later into the schedule to avoid back-to-back games. The NBA made this change in an effort to avoid having empty days on the calendar while attempting to minimize back-to-back games for all teams as much as possible.

Are the semifinals and finals still being played in Las Vegas?

For this season, yes. Next year, however, the semifinals — like the quarterfinals — will be played at home sites. Having teams go to Sin City for a week (and, more importantly, trying to get fans there for two games over several days on short notice) hasn’t gone the way the league initially believed that it would.

What is new about the tournament this year?

Most of the games are being shown on Amazon Prime, including the knockout rounds. The schedule is also primarily on Fridays, beginning on Halloween, rather than bouncing back and forth from Tuesday to Friday throughout November as it did during the first two years of the tournament.

Why does the NBA Cup include regular-season games?

Before its launch, one of the main questions surrounding the in-season tournament was why any team would be incentivized to compete in it. The NBA ensured teams will be motivated by making every game part of the season — and, being in-conference, potentially important from a playoff-tiebreaker standpoint. If this had been set up like the cup tournaments in European soccer, there would have been nothing stopping NBA teams from opting out, literally or figuratively — sitting their top players for extra rest.

What teams make up the groups?

To create the groups, the NBA put all 15 teams in each conference into five pots, separated by their finish in last season’s standings. Pot 1 included the teams that finished 1-3 in regular-season record, teams 4-6 went into Pot 2, teams 7-9 into Pot 3, teams 10-12 into Pot 4, and teams 13-15 into Pot 5. As a result, the following groups were drawn:

• East A: Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards

• East B: Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers

• East C: New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets

• West A: Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz

• West B: Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans

• West C: Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs

Does one group stand out the most from the others?

This one is easy: West Group C. Three of the top four teams in the Western Conference — Houston, Denver and Golden State — are in the group, plus a Blazers team that excelled down the stretch last season. Oh, and don’t forget about Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, too. West Group B is also competitive, but Memphis is already dealing with injuries, Dallas is missing Kyrie Irving and the Pelicans are expected to be well outside the playoff picture.

What do players get for winning?

In 2023, the first year the tournament was held, the players on the winning team received $500,000 each, while those on the runners-up got $200,000. The losing players of the semifinals each got $100,000, and those ousted in the quarterfinals each got $50,000. Now, in each subsequent year, the prizes will be slightly higher, as a result of negotiated raises year over year to keep pace with increases in the salary cap and basketball-related income as part of the most recent collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association.

Will anyone earn individual honors for their play in NBA Cup games?

There will be an MVP award, as well as an all-tournament team.

Will this have any impact on the playoffs?

Not beyond the games counting in the regular-season standings (and toward tiebreakers). The only playoff impact comes from the wins and losses accrued throughout the tournament. Though there was debate among league insiders about guaranteeing a playoff berth for winning the tournament, ultimately, that idea (or any other to further incentivize teams) was not enacted.

Why is it called the Emirates NBA Cup?

The league struck a sponsorship deal with Emirates, the Dubai-based airline, to sponsor the tournament after its initial run. The NBA said last year that it went with the most basic titles for both the tournament and its trophy — the «in-season tournament» and «NBA Cup» — as a way to introduce the concept to fans. However, using such nondescript names had another clear advantage: It gave the league a blank slate in case the tournament and cup became properties it ended up selling to a sponsor, and avoided the complications that could arise by naming them after someone (for example, the late NBA commissioner David Stern, one possibility that had been floated before the tournament was officially unveiled).

2025 Emirates NBA Cup schedule:

All times Eastern

Group Play

Oct. 31

• Hawks 128, Pacers 108

• Celtics 109, 76ers 108

• Raptors 112, Cavaliers 101

• Knicks 135, Bulls 125

• Lakers 117, Grizzlies 112

• Suns 118, Jazz 96

• Trail Blazers 109, Nuggets 107

• Clippers 126, Pelicans 124

Nov. 7

• Cavaliers 148, Wizards 114

• Magic 123, Celtics 110

• Raptors 109, Hawks 97

• Pistons 125, Nets 107

• Spurs 121, Rockets 110

• Bucks 126, Bulls 110

• Heat 126, Hornets 108

• Timberwolves 137, Jazz 97

• Grizzlies 118, Mavericks 104

• Thunder 132, Kings 101

• Nuggets 129, Warriors 104

Nov. 14

• Magic 105, Nets 98

• Knicks 140, Heat 132

• Pistons 114, 76ers 105

• Rockets 140, Trail Blazers 116

• Lakers 118, Pelicans 104

• Timberwolves 124, Kings 110

• Bucks 147, Hornets 134 (OT)

• Clippers 133, Mavericks 127 (2OT)

• Warriors 109, Spurs 108

Nov. 21

• Nets 113, Celtics 105

• Cavaliers 120, Pacers 109

• Raptors 140, Wizards 110

• Heat 143, Bulls 107

• Mavericks 118, Pelicans 115

• Suns 114, Timberwolves 113

• Nuggets 112, Rockets 109

• Thunder 144, Jazz 112

• Trail Blazers 127, Warriors 123

Nov. 25

• Wizards 132, Hawks 113

• 76ers 136, Magic 124

• Lakers 135, Clippers 118

Nov. 26

• Detroit Pistons at Boston Celtics, 5 p.m. (ESPN)

• New York Knicks at Charlotte Hornets, 7 p.m.

• Indiana Pacers at Toronto Raptors, 7:30 p.m.

• Minnesota Timberwolves at Oklahoma City Thunder, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

• Milwaukee Bucks at Miami Heat, 7:30 p.m.

• Memphis Grizzlies at New Orleans Pelicans, 8 p.m.

• Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors, 10 p.m. (ESPN)

• San Antonio Spurs at Portland Trail Blazers, 10 p.m.

• Phoenix Suns at Sacramento Kings, 10 p.m.

Nov. 28

• Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks, 7:30 p.m.

• Chicago Bulls at Charlotte Hornets, 7:30 p.m.

• Milwaukee Bucks at New York Knicks, 7:30 p.m. (Prime)

• Orlando Magic at Detroit Pistons, 7:30 p.m.

• Philadelphia 76ers at Brooklyn Nets, 7:30 p.m.

• Washington Wizards at Indiana Pacers, 7:30 p.m.

• Phoenix Suns at Oklahoma City Thunder, 9:30 p.m.

• Sacramento Kings at Utah Jazz, 9:30 p.m.

• San Antonio Spurs at Denver Nuggets, 9:30 p.m.

• Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Lakers, 10 p.m. (Prime)

• Memphis Grizzlies at LA Clippers, 10 p.m.

Knockout

Dec. 9 and 10: Quarterfinals

• TBD vs. TBD, (Prime)

• TBD vs. TBD, (Prime)

• TBD vs. TBD, (Prime)

• TBD vs. TBD, (Prime)

Dec. 13: Semifinals

• TBD vs. TBD, (Prime)

• TBD vs. TBD, (Prime)

Dec. 16: Championship

• TBD vs. TBD, (Prime)