The 2024 NBA Cup is underway, as the league continues Year 2 of its in-season tournament. The fourth night of games took place on Friday with 16 teams in action. The Bucks, Rockets and Warriors were all able to stay undefeated in their respective groups, with Golden State becoming the first team to clinch a spot in the knockout round by virtue of their win over the Pelicans and the Nuggets’ loss to the Mavericks.
With the loss, New Orleans was the first team to be eliminated from knockout contention. Meanwhile the Rockets’ 28-point win over the Trail Blazers on Friday gave them a massive plus-49 point differential as they lead West Group A. On quite the opposite side of the spectrum, the Hawks lead East Group C with a point differential of minus-1.
Five more games are on the NBA Cup schedule for Tuesday night, as we inch closer to the conclusion of group play.
The NBA Cup courts have a different look in 2024, but the event largely has the same format as 2023, its inaugural year — even if that format could use some tweaks.
For those who need a reminder, here’s a brief summary of how the tournament works:
- The NBA’s 30 teams have been split into six five-team groups: Three groups in the Eastern Conference and three groups in the Western Conference.
- Teams are playing the other four teams in their group in round-robin style play on Tuesdays and Fridays between Nov. 12 and Dec. 3.
- Eight teams (the six group winners plus one wild-card team from each conference) will advance to the knockout round. The standings will be determined by overall record, head-to-head record and point differential if a tiebreaker is needed (there are even more tiebreakers if necessary).
- The knockout round will be a single-elimination bracket. The four East teams will be on one side of the bracket, the four West teams will be on the other. The final between the East and West winners will be held on Dec. 17 in Las Vegas.
Got it? Good. With the event in progress, we’ll be keeping track of the standings (and the potentially all-important point differentials) below.
NBA Cup standings: East Group A
NBA Cup standings: East Group B
2024 NBA Cup standings: East Group C
2024 NBA Cup standings: West Group A
2024 NBA Cup standings: West Group B
2024 NBA Cup standings: West Group C
- X – Clinched group
- O – Eliminated from knockout contention
- WC – Clinched wild card
2024 NBA Cup odds
Odds to win from DraftKings as of Nov. 12. Fans can take action on the NBA Cup with the latest DraftKings promo.
