The Emirates NBA Cup returns! With tournament tips off on October 31.
• Emirates NBA Cup 101
• Emirates NBA Cup FAQ
• Emirates NBA Cup: Complete coverage
Earlier today, the six groups for the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup were revealed, setting the stage for the third installment of the NBA’s annual in-season competition.
Each group is comprised of five teams from the same conference, randomly drawn based on win-loss records from the 2024-25 season.
During Group Play, each team will play one game against each of the other four teams in their group. The schedule for these games will be released at a later date, but knowing the groups, we can dive into the potential storylines now.
A reminder that the teams that finish with the best record in each group automatically qualify for the Knockouts. They’ll be joined by two wild card teams — the best second-place team in Group Play from each conference.
Now, let’s dive into the groups.
East Group A
The teams: Cleveland, Indiana, Atlanta, Toronto, Washington
Fueled by a franchise-best 15-0 start, the Cavs held first place in the East from Oct. 30 until the end of the season. But their two paths to hardware — the NBA Cup and the Larry O’Brien Trophy — were thwarted by two teams in their group this season: The Hawks and Pacers.
The Hawks handed the Cavs their first consecutive losses of the season, with the latter game being Cleveland’s second loss in Group Play, which was too many to overcome. Atlanta won the group at 3-1, while Cleveland finished third at 2-2.
With 64 wins, the Cavs entered the playoffs as the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed. After sweeping Miami in the first round, Cleveland met Indiana in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Pacers pulled off a pair of 19-plus point comebacks in Cleveland to stun the Cavs with a 4-1 series win.
While Atlanta reached the NBA Cup quarterfinals, they failed to make it out of the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament for the second straight season. The Hawks have been busy this offseason, adding Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Kristaps Porziņģis and Luke Kennard to bolster their roster. This year’s NBA Cup Group Play will give us an early view of the new-look Hawks.
East Group B
The teams: Boston, Detroit, Orlando, Brooklyn, Philadelphia
In back-to-back years, the Pistons (Cade Cunningham in 2021) and Magic (Paolo Banchero in 2022) added a cornerstone player with the top pick in the NBA Draft. With those two All-Stars leading the way, Detroit and Orlando enter 2025 as two of the up-and-coming teams in the East and could each use the Emirates NBA Cup as a launching platform for a successful season and deep playoff run.
Group Play will also give us a chance to watch the new-look Celtics playing under elevated stakes. After beating Orlando in the first round, Boston lost Jayson Tatum to a torn Achilles in the East semifinals and has moved both Jrue Holiday (to Portland for Anfernee Simons) and Porziņģis (to Atlanta for Georges Niang) from the 2024 title team.
Injuries played a significant role in Philadelphia’s seven-year playoff streak coming to an end in 2024. Can the Sixers get off to a healthy start and make some noise in Group Play to put the East on notice that Philly is ready for a bounce-back season?
East Group C
The teams: New York, Milwaukee, Chicago, Miami, Charlotte
A year ago, the Bucks used the Emirates NBA Cup as a key piece to an in-season turnaround. After going 2-8 through the season’s first 10 games, the Bucks went 9-1 over the following 10, including an unbeaten 4-0 run in Group Play to earn the top seed in the Knockouts.
Milwaukee defeated Orlando and Atlanta to reach the championship game against Oklahoma City. The Bucks held the Thunder to just 81 points — the fewest points OKC would score in any game during their run to the 2024-25 NBA title. Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo (26 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and three blocks) posted the first-ever triple-double in the Knockouts to lead the Bucks to the Cup.
The Bucks aren’t the only team in East Group C to have reached the Knockouts last season. The Knicks also went unbeaten in Group Play in 2024 and will try to match that run in 2025 under a new coach in Mike Brown. While NY has a new voice, Miami now has the longest-tenured coach in the league in Erik Spoelstra, who will look to lead the Heat to the Knockouts for the first time.
West Group A
The teams: Oklahoma City, Minnesota, Sacramento, Phoenix, Utah
Last season, the Thunder won a league-best 68 games, had the scoring champ and Kia MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and went on to win the first NBA title of the OKC era. However, one accomplishment evaded the Thunder last season — the NBA Cup — as they fell to the Bucks 97-81 for their only taste of defeat during a 15-game regular-season win streak.
Before the Thunder can get back to the Knockouts and try to avenge last year’s loss in the championship game, they’ll have to knock off a familiar foe: Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves, OKC’s opponent in the West Finals (a series the Thunder won in five games).
In addition to the West Finals rematch, West Group A offers an early look at the post-Kevin Durant trade Suns, who now feature Devin Booker, Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks on their roster.
West Group B
The teams: Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, Memphis, Dallas, New Orleans
Winners of the inaugural in-season competition in 2023, the Lakers enter their first full season with Luka Dončić on the roster to complement LeBron James, newcomer Deandre Ayton & Co. in L.A.’s search for more gold.
On the opposite side of the Battle of Los Angeles are James Harden and Kawhi Leonard, the latter of whom made his season debut in January (and, thus, missed Group Play). The Clippers won 11 straight meetings with the Lakers from 2020-23, but the Lakers enter Group Play having won six of the past eight against the Clippers.
Group Play will also give an early look at 2025 No. 1 overall draft pick, Cooper Flagg, in a series of games with elevated stakes early in his NBA career with the Mavericks. How will Flagg pair with fellow No. 1 pick Anthony Davis on the Dallas frontline? How quickly will he adapt to the NBA? And how high can he raise the Mavs’ ceiling in his rookie campaign?
West Group C
The teams: Houston, Denver, Golden State, Portland, San Antonio
Last season, the Rockets won 52 games — 11 more than the previous season — and earned the No. 2 seed in the West while snapping a four-year playoff drought. However, that playoff run was short-lived as the young Rockets fell to the veteran-laden Warriors in seven games. A rematch of that first-round series highlights Group Play in West C.
Following last year’s playoff loss, the Rockets had a busy offseason, adding Kevin Durant, Clint Capela and Dorian Finney-Smith to add more veterans to their roster mix. And they weren’t alone. The 2023 champion Nuggets also used several trades to reshape their roster with the additions of Bruce Brown, Cam Johnson, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jonas Valančiūnas.
Meanwhile, the Spurs will begin a season under a head coach other than Gregg Popovich for the first time since 1996. Mitch Johnson begins his first full season with some key pieces having to come together quickly for a successful NBA Cup run.
San Antonio added No. 2 pick Dylan Harper to a backcourt that features reigning Kia Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle and last year’s midseason pickup, De’Aaron Fox. In the frontcourt, new additions Luke Kornet and Kelly Olynyk join a returning Victor Wembanyama, who missed the final two months of last season (deep vein thrombosis in his shoulder).