You probably forgot that it existed as soon as it ended last year, and you were probably reminded of it when you turned on the television Friday night and saw the Nuggets playing on a jet-black court.
Yes, it’s the NBA Cup, that goofy and gimmicky in-season tournament played on obnoxious courts for cash prizes.
Denver got stuck with a brutal draw this year, beginning with Friday’s game at Portland. In the first two installments of this event, the Nuggets failed to make the knockout stage. But only eight teams do. As always, the 30 NBA teams were split into six groups of five. The first-place team in each group will advance, plus two “wild card” second-place teams (one from the West, one from the East).
Group games are built into the regular-season schedule between Halloween and the end of November. Head-to-head results are the first tiebreaker. Point differential is second, in case you get confused by teams attempting half-court buzzer beaters with a 20-point lead.
As silly as the entire concept is, it’s still a fun time, in this humble writer’s opinion. And the opportunity to predict the bracket is a good excuse to look around the league at how various teams have started the season. So here goes nothing.
West Group A
Predicted order of finish: Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz, Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns.
In a combination of maximum chalk and maximum chaos, the OKC machine churns on to another knockout stage — and is joined there by Utah. That’s right, the Jazz will be the Western Conference wild card after taking advantage of weaker competition while the group of death cannibalizes itself. (More on that in a minute.) Despite being a consensus pick to finish dead last in the real-life standings, Utah has some compelling parts: three 7-footers in the starting lineup all with different and complementary skill sets (Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler and Kyle Filipowski), an exciting draft class on the bench (Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr.) and a highly regarded coach bringing it all together (Will Hardy). No, the Jazz probably won’t be playing meaningful basketball in March. But the in-season tournament is made for teams like this.
West Group B
Predicted order of finish: Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks.
Vibes in Dallas reach an all-time low, and “Fire Nico” chants reach a crescendo as the listless Pelicans eliminate the Mavs at American Airlines Center. Meanwhile, Luka Doncic and the recently possessed Austin Reaves lead the Lakers back to the quarterfinals via point differential, which breaks a three-way tie with the Clips and Grizz. As of this Thursday, before group play began, four of the bottom-six teams in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio resided in this group. The Clippers are too good to be 29th in this category. Eventually, they’ll emerge as the best and certainly deepest team of these five, but Ty Lue needs time to put the pieces together.
West Group C
Predicted order of finish: San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets.
The prevailing takeaway from the first week of this season: Run for your life, MVP contenders. Nikola Jokic’s claim to the “best in the world” title might be limited. Victor Wembanyama is here. The Spurs, in spite of all their roster-building patience, might be ahead of schedule. At least as a regular-season team. The defense looks impenetrable. The early returns on No. 2 draft pick Dylan Harper are promising. And Wemby is competitive enough to trick himself into thinking this trophy means something. Denver’s group stage curse continues with a head-to-head tiebreak loss to San Antonio in this absolute gauntlet. Even the weakest team here (Portland) has top-10 defense potential.
East Group A
Predicted order of finish: Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards.
This is basically Cleveland and a bunch of teams that started poorly. The Cavs have to be penciled in as the East wild card, at minimum. But how do you convince yourself not to be completely boring? By keeping the faith in Atlanta, a fun team on paper that has looked like way less than the sum of its parts so far. Trae Young injured his knee earlier this week, adding to the concern. But let’s go lemons to lemonade and project a breakout month for Jalen Johnson working with the ball in his hands more. The Raptors are intriguing here as well, but their defense has betrayed them too much to be trusted.
East Group B
Predicted order of finish: Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Brooklyn Nets.
Meet the best backcourt in the East. (OK, Cleveland’s is better when Darius Garland is healthy. But sometimes you have to be a little dramatic for effect.) Philly’s guards are playing so well that it might not even matter if Joel Embiid and Paul George are injured or underperforming, at least in small doses. Tyrese Maxey’s bona fides are established by now, VJ Edgecombe is a legit challenger to Cooper Flagg for Rookie of the Year, Quentin Grimes is playing for a big contract next summer, and Jared McCain is another tantalizing prospect if he can stay healthy. This team has serious talent. The fast start isn’t fake. Nor was Brooklyn’s winless week. What is fake: Desmond Bane’s 3-point shooting mega-slump in Orlando. Trust that he’ll settle in with his new team soon.
ALL 30 TEAM COURTS FOR EMIRATES NBA CUP 2025 pic.twitter.com/aZzsIdUedL
— NBA (@NBA) October 24, 2025
East Group C
Predicted order of finish: Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets.
This is shaping up to be a surprisingly potent group. Miami and Charlotte got off to hyper-efficient starts offensively, and they were still overshadowed by the 4-0 Chicago Bulls rattling off wins without Coby White. At the end of the day, though, how can you bet against the defending NBA Cup champs? Giannis Antetokounmpo averaged 36.3 points and 14 rebounds on 70% shooting in his first four games, then the Bucks beat any allegations of over-dependency by knocking off Golden State without him on Thursday. Myles Turner’s shot hasn’t been falling, but he’s provided an early defensive boost — the kind that Karl-Anthony Towns doesn’t add in New York. Milwaukee wins this group in a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Knicks, while LaMelo Ball air-balls potential game-winners from 35 feet deep in two different Hornets games.
Knockout stage
Quarterfinals: Thunder over Jazz; Spurs over Lakers; Cavaliers over Bucks; 76ers over Hawks.
Semifinals: Spurs over Thunder; Cavs over Sixers.
Final: Spurs over Cavs.
The first-ever NBA Cup was claimed by LeBron. The second was hoisted by Giannis. The third will belong to Wemby.