NBA Cup

For the most recent series, see 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament. For a list of individual NBA Cup champions by year, see List of NBA Cup champions. For the tournament played at the end of the season between the 7-10 seeded teams in each conference (contending for playoff spots), see NBA play-in tournament.

NBA Cup
Founded2023
Number of teams30 total; 15 per conference
Current championsLos Angeles Lakers
(2023)
Most championshipsLos Angeles Lakers (1 title)
TV partners
2024 NBA Cup

The NBA Cup,[1] known as the Emirates NBA Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) tournament that occurs during the regular season. The tournament was officially announced on July 8, 2023, and it debuted during the 2023–24 NBA season. The first edition of the event was called the In-Season Tournament.[2]

The format is a multi-stage tournament beginning with group play followed by single-elimination knockout rounds. Group play consists of three groups of five teams per conference, for a total of six groups. Each team plays four group stage games, which count towards both the NBA Cup group standings and the regular season standings. The winners of each group, along with one wild card team from each conference, advance to the knockout rounds. The final two rounds of the knockout stage are played at a neutral site.

The winning team receives the trophy, also called the NBA Cup, and each winning player receives a cash prize, which was $500,000 for the 2023 edition.[3] The first winner of the NBA Cup was the Los Angeles Lakers, with the tournament MVP being LeBron James.[4]

  1. ^ Herbert, James (February 8, 2024). "NBA In-Season Tournament renamed 'NBA Cup' with Emirates as a sponsor". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on February 8, 2024. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  2. ^ Herbert, James (February 8, 2024). "NBA In-Season Tournament renamed 'NBA Cup' with Emirates as a sponsor". CBS Sports. Secaucus, NJ. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  3. ^ "NBA goes bold with flashy announcement of In-Season Tournament". NBA.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2023. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  4. ^ Dopirak, Dustin (December 9, 2023). "Anthony Davis posts 41 points, 20 rebounds to beat Pacers in IST final". Sports. Indianapolis Star. ISSN 1930-2533. Archived from the original on February 8, 2024. Retrieved December 10, 2023.