The eight-team knockout stage of the 2024 NBA Cup is taking shape, and we’ll know all the quarterfinalists of the league’s in-season tournament by the end of the night Tuesday. Only three of the eight knockout round spots have been clinched so far, with the Warriors, Rockets and Hawks securing their places in the bracket. But there are five more spots on the line on Tuesday’s schedule, and plenty of intriguing matchups to watch.
In the East, we have a pair of battles between teams who are 3-0 in NBA Cup play: Magic vs. Knicks in Group A and Bucks vs. Pistons in Group B. The winners of those two games will advance to the knockout round. The losers are still alive for the East’s wild-card spot, however. The Celtics — who have wrapped up their NBA Cup action at 3-1 with a +23 point differential — are also in play for a wild-card spot depending on Tuesday’s outcomes.
Group B is still up for grabs in the West with the Thunder, Suns and Spurs all entering Tuesday at 2-1. The Thunder host the Jazz, while the Suns face the Spurs. Those three teams, along with the Mavericks and Trail Blazers are all in the running for the West’s lone wild-card spot.
Here’s a brief summary of how the tournament works, including what happens for tiebreakers if they’re needed on Tuesday:
- The NBA’s 30 teams have been split into six five-team groups: There are three groups in the Eastern Conference and three groups in the Western Conference.
- Teams have been playing the other four teams in their group in round-robin style play on Tuesdays and Fridays. The 2024 NBA cup started on Nov. 12, and group play ends on Tuesday (Dec. 3). Every team will have played four NBA Cup games by the end of Tuesday night.
- 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 quarterfinals are Dec. 10 and 11. The semifinals are Dec. 14 in Las Vegas, and the the final between the East and West winners will be held on Dec. 17 (also in 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 clinching scenarios
- The Magic clinch East Group A with a win against the Knicks.
- The Knicks clinch East Group A with a win against the Magic.
- The Bucks clinch East Group B with a win against the Pistons.
- The Pistons clinch East Group B with a win against the Bucks.
- The Spurs clinch West Group B with a win against the Suns.
- The Thunder clinch West Group B with a win against the Jazz and a loss by the Spurs.
- The Suns clinch West Group B with a win against the Spurs and a loss by the Thunder.
- Scenarios for wild-card spots can be found here for the East and the West.
NBA Cup standings
X – Clinched group
O – Eliminated from knockout contention
WC – Clinched wild card
East Group A
East Group B
East Group C
West Group A
West Group B
West Group C
2024 NBA Cup odds
Odds to win from DraftKings as of Dec. 2. Fans can take action on the NBA Cup with the latest DraftKings promo.
- Knicks: +450
- Rockets: +500
- Thunder: +550
- Warriors: +650
- Bucks: +700
- Magic: +850
- Mavericks: +1200
- Celtics: +1800
- Suns: +2000
- Hawks: +2200