NBA Cup facts for kids

The NBA Cup is a special basketball tournament held every year during the regular National Basketball Association (NBA) season. It was first announced in July 2023 and started during the 2023-2024 NBA season. The first tournament was called the In-Season Tournament.

This tournament has different stages. It begins with group play, where teams play against others in their group. After that, it moves to knockout rounds, where teams are eliminated if they lose. The final games of the knockout stage are played at a special neutral location.

The team that wins the tournament gets a trophy, also called the NBA Cup. Each winning player also receives a cash prize. The Los Angeles Lakers won the first NBA Cup, and LeBron James was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP).

Quick facts for kids
NBA Cup

Founded	2023
Number of teams	30 total; 15 per conference
Current champions	Milwaukee Bucks (1st title) (2024)
Most championships	Los Angeles Lakers Milwaukee Bucks (1 title)
TV partners	United States: ABC/ESPN (Group Play Games only) NBC/Peacock (Group Play Games only) Amazon Prime Video Canada: TSN Sportsnet NBA TV Canada
2024 NBA Cup

How the NBA Cup Started

NBA officials had thought about having a tournament during the regular season for many years. They wanted to make the NBA more exciting during November and December. This is when the NBA season happens at the same time as the National Football League (NFL) season.

On July 6, 2023, the NBA announced the first tournament. It was held from November 3 to December 9, 2023. The details were shared on July 8. The groups were drawn, and the semifinals and championship games were set to be played at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Los Angeles Lakers won the first NBA Cup by beating the Indiana Pacers in the championship game.

The second NBA Cup tournament took place from November 12 to December 17, 2024. The semifinals and championship were again held at T-Mobile Arena. The Milwaukee Bucks won the second NBA Cup by defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Tournament Rules and Format

The NBA Cup has a format similar to other in-season tournaments, like those in soccer. Here are the main rules:

• Each of the NBA's two conferences (Eastern and Western) is split into three groups. Each group has five teams.
• Teams play a "round robin" in their group. This means each team plays every other team in its group once. They play a total of four group games.
• These group games count for both the NBA Cup standings and the regular NBA season standings.
• Four teams from each conference move on to the knockout stage. These are the three group winners and one "wild card" team. The wild card team is the best second-place team in each conference.
• The Quarterfinal games are played at the home arenas of the teams with the best records from the group stage.
• The Semifinals and Championship game are played at a neutral location. So far, these games have always been held at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
• The championship game is the only game that does not count as a regular season game.
• Players on teams that reach the knockout stage get prize money. The further their team goes, the more money they receive.

How Ties Are Broken

If two or more teams have the same record in their group, there are rules to decide who advances. These rules are used in order:

• How teams played against each other in the group stage.
• The difference between points scored and points allowed in group games.
• The total points scored in the group stage.
• Their regular season record from the previous NBA season.
• A random drawing if teams are still tied after all other rules.

Some players and coaches have suggested changing the rules for tie-breaking. They think that using point difference might make teams try to score too many points, even when they are already winning by a lot.

Special Uniforms and Courts

An NBA Cup court used by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2024.

For NBA Cup games, teams wear special uniforms. Home teams wear their "Statement" edition uniforms, and away teams wear their "Association" edition uniforms. The games are played on unique basketball courts designed just for the event.

These courts look different from regular NBA courts. They have a fully painted surface with three circles in the middle. The NBA Cup trophy is shown at the center of the court. Silhouettes of the trophy are also painted near the free-throw lines. The court designs often match the home team's "Statement" uniform colors.

In the first tournament in 2023, home teams wore their "City" edition uniforms. The courts also had a painted surface with a contrasting color strip down the middle.

Not all teams were able to use their special courts. For example, the Dallas Mavericks played their home NBA Cup games on regular courts because of problems making their special court.

People had different opinions about the unique court designs. Some thought they were a great marketing idea, but others, like Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, were "not a fan." Some players, including Jaylen Brown and Luka Dončić, said the new courts felt slippery. Fans also sometimes complained that the courts were too bright and distracting.

For the semifinal and final games in Las Vegas, the court was blue with a red middle strip. Sometimes, teams had to wear different uniforms than they wanted to, to make sure their colors stood out against the court. For example, the Lakers had to wear gold uniforms instead of black in the 2023 semifinals.

Impact on the Regular Season

Almost all NBA Cup games count as regular season games. The only exception is the championship game.

To make sure all teams play the same number of regular season games (82), the NBA changes its schedule. Initially, only 80 games are announced for each team. The last two games are scheduled after the group stage of the NBA Cup finishes:

• Teams that don't make it to the knockout rounds play two extra games against other eliminated teams. These games happen when the knockout rounds are taking place.
• The four teams that lose in the quarterfinals play one extra game against a team from their same conference. This game happens the day before the championship game.

NBA Cup Winners

This table shows the winners of the NBA Cup.

Awards and Trophies

After the tournament, the league gives out several awards. These include the NBA Cup trophy, the NBA Cup Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, championship medals, and an All-Tournament Team.

The NBA Cup Trophy

The winning team gets the NBA Cup trophy. It was designed by Victor Solomon and made by Tiffany & Co. The trophy weighs about 35 pounds (16 kg) and is 23 inches (58 cm) tall. It is made of sterling silver and covered with 24 karat gold and black ceramic.

The design features a black cup with eight gold prongs around it. These eight prongs represent the eight teams that make it to the knockout rounds. The base of the trophy has 30 net openings, which stand for all 30 teams in the NBA.

All-NBA Cup Teams and MVPs

LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, 2023 MVP

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks, 2024 MVP

The Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is chosen by a group of media members and by online fan votes. In the first tournament in 2023, media members cast 20 votes, and fans cast 5 votes.

Players in bold were the NBA Cup MVP. The numbers in parentheses show how many times a player has been selected to the All-NBA Cup Team. Giannis Antetokounmpo is the only player to be on this list twice.

Where to Watch the Games

In 2023 and 2024, some NBA Cup group games were shown on TV channels like TNT and ESPN. NBA TV also showed games, especially on Black Friday. Most quarterfinal games were on TNT. The semifinals were split between TNT, ESPN, and ABC. ABC showed the championship game in both years.

Starting in 2026, Amazon Prime Video will be the main place to watch all the knockout round games.

See also

In Spanish: NBA Cup para niños