As the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup inches closer, we take a quick look at the rules, format, and how exactly it will work.
Three weeks into the regular season, that only means one thing - it's officially time for the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup to begin. Slated for action to ramp up Tuesday, November 12, the second installment of the league's in-season tournament will set sail. After the Los Angeles Lakers won the inaugural in-season tournament a year ago, beating the Indiana Pacers in the championship game, there will be added intrigue to the action as it begins across the league.
But before it begins, it's only natural to have questions about how it works, what the format will be, and how many games exactly my favorite team has to win in order to hoist the trophy at the end of the tournament. Questions that fans everywhere likely have on their minds, let's take a deep dive into the Emirates NBA Cup.
What are the NBA Cup rules and format:
The 2024 NBA Cup will take place every Tuesday and Friday, beginning November 12, and will run through December 3. Only the group play games will count as regular-season games. Teams will play four group play games before it is determined whether they will qualify for the knockout rounds of the tournament or not. The top team from each group will advance automatically and one "wildcard" from each conference (the one team with the best standing based on tiebreakers) will also advance, bringing the total teams moving on to the next stage of the tournament to eight teams.
Once the top eight teams from the group play are determined, they will advance to a single-elimination knockout round that will consist of a quarterfinals, semifinals, and then a championship round. The official groups were announced just before the start of training camp earlier this year.
The NBA Cup officially begins November 12 with group play, the quarterfinals are scheduled for December 10-11, the semifinals for December 14, and the championship will take place December 17. The championship game of the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup will be played in Las Vegas.