Hardware is precious in the NBA, but last season a new competition was introduced to give teams the opportunity to lift a trophy other than the Larry O’Brien.

LeBron James added to his legacy as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers 123-109 to win the inaugural In-Season Tournament, as the competition was then called.

Rebranded as the Emirates NBA Cup, this season’s tournament tips off on Nov. 12 and concludes with the championship game on Dec. 17. But what’s the format, have any changes been made since last year and which teams are favorites to be crowned the second-ever winners?

What are the key dates?

From Nov. 12 to Dec. 3, group play “Cup Nights” will take place every Tuesday and Friday. All 30 teams will participate in this first stage and play four group games each — two at home and two on the road.

The quarterfinals will be on Dec. 10 and 11 at the home city of the higher seed.

The final stages of the tournament will be held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, a city that does not currently have an NBA franchise — though it is a favorite to receive one should the NBA expand in the near future, as many expect. The semifinals will be on Saturday, Dec. 14, and the championship game on Tuesday, Dec. 17.

Besides the championship game, all cup games count as NBA regular-season contests.

How does group play work?

Each of the 30 teams was randomly drawn into six groups of five in their respective conferences. Win-loss records from the 2023-24 regular season were taken into account for seeding. Teams will face each of their group opponents once.

The groups are as follows:

Western Conference

West Group A

Houston Rockets
LA Clippers
Minnesota Timberwolves
Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings

West Group B

Los Angeles Lakers
Oklahoma City Thunder
Phoenix Suns
San Antonio Spurs
Utah Jazz

West Group C

Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
Golden State Warriors
Memphis Grizzlies
New Orleans Pelicans

Eastern Conference

East Group A

Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
New York Knicks
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers

East Group B

Detroit Pistons
Indiana Pacers
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
Toronto Raptors

East Group C

Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Washington Wizards

The Lakers celebrate their 123-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers in the inaugural In-Season championship game (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

And what about the knockout rounds?

The six group winners will advance to the knockouts, along with two wildcards — one second-placed team from each conference with the best record outside of the group winners.

Like the road to the NBA Finals, the quarterfinals and semifinals are inter-conference. As we know from last year, the cup has single-elimination knockout games, so it is win-or-go-home. That means only three knockout wins are required to lift the trophy.

Tiebreakers

Tiebreakers came into play last year and that will likely be the case again. If two or more teams finish with the same record in a group, there are priority-ordered tiebreakers:

• Head-to-head record in group play
• Point differential in group play
• Total points scored in group play
• Record from 2023-24 NBA regular season

A random draw is done if the tiebreakers don’t separate the teams. These tiebreaks will also decide second place if teams have the same record. If there is a tie for the wildcard teams, these tiebreakers would kick in again, minus the head-to-head record in group play.

These rules can, and will, lead to some strange situations, such as teams running up the score to boost point differentials or playing hard even with a 30-point lead and leaving their stars in for the duration.

During last year’s final slate of group games, Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan seemed to take umbrage with the Boston Celtics for intentionally fouling Andre Drummond while leading by 32 points in the fourth quarter. Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla had to explain to his Bulls counterpart that the Celtics needed to win by at least 23 points to progress to the knockout rounds. The Celtics also needed the Brooklyn Nets to beat the Toronto Raptors, which the Nets did to secure Boston the top slot in their group.

On the other end, Golden State had to beat the Sacramento Kings by 12 points to advance to the knockouts and were eliminated after squandering a 24-point lead in a 124-123 loss. 

What is the prize?

As well as the trophy itself, there is a monetary reward. The NBA estimated the prize pool for players would be as follows:

• Championship-winning team: $514,971 for each player.
• Losing Championship team: $205,988 for each player.
• Losing semi-finalists: $102,994 for each player.
• Losing quarter-finalists: $51,497 for each player.

Such figures might not register with the NBA’s highest earners — Stephen Curry made a league-high $51.9 million last season — but it could boost the fortunes of rookies signed to minimum contracts ($1,157,153) and those on two-way contracts ($578,577), whose salaries would almost be doubled with the prize.

The NBA will announce an Emirates NBA Cup Most Valuable Player (MVP) and an All-Tournament Team. LeBron James earned the MVP last season.

Who are the favorites?

The Lakers will be looking to repeat but will have to overcome the Oklahoma City Thunder, who had the best record in the Western Conference last year, and the Kevin Durant-led Phoenix Suns in Group Play.

West Group C, featuring the Nuggets, Mavericks, Pelicans, Warriors, and Grizzlies, offers plenty of exciting matchups. Golden State is off to a fast start this season, while Memphis is a low-seeded team because of its injury-riddled 2023-24 season.

In the east, the Celtics, led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, could add to their 2024 NBA Finals victory but the Cleveland Cavaliers have come out of the blocks strong at the start of this season.

In single-elimination knockout games, anything can happen. The gritty ‘Heat Culture’ of the Miami Heat in the East and the Minnesota Timberwolves, who made it to the Western Conference finals last year behind Anthony Edwards, are two teams that could make a run regardless of their regular-season records.

How to watch?

Viewers in the U.S. can watch on ABC, ESPN, NBA TV, and TNT. International audiences can find every game on the NBA’s League Pass. Find broadcast options and the TV schedule here. 

What have the players said?

Larry Nance Jr. reacts after shooting for three points against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on November 08, 2024 (Nic Antaya/Getty Images)

Draymond Green, four-time NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors, described last year’s games as fun and intense, while Orlando Magic’s Jalen Suggs said it was like “playing in the (soccer) Champions League.”

But others were less effusive. Memphis Grizzlies guard Marcus Smart said he had “mixed feelings” about the tournament but added that it was “great to be able to play more basketball.”

Last year, Atlanta Hawks forward Larry Nance Jr told The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov: “It’s got the ability to be very cool, it just has to be done the right way and marketed to the players in the right way.”

The 2023-24 championship game was the most watched non-Christmas NBA game during the regular season on any network in nearly six years with peak viewership at 5.6 million.

The tournament is still in its infancy and could develop into an important part of the NBA calendar. Much rests on how the next few weeks unfold.

(Top photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)