The Los Angeles Lakers won the inaugural Emirates NBA Cup Championship two seasons ago, but were unable to defend it last season. But this year, behind Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James, the Lakers are in prime position to make another run and reclaim the championship.
The Lakers are 2-0 in the Cup so far with wins over the Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans and sit atop Group B alongside the Los Angeles Clippers, who are also 2-0. The Lakers will finish up group play this week as they face the Clippers on Tuesday and the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, but a victory over their crosstown rivals would render Friday’s contest basically irrelevant.
Should the Lakers defeat the Clippers, they will clinch the top spot in Group B and guarantee their place in the knockout round, via NBA PR:
The final three Cup Nights of the Emirates NBA Cup 2025 come in the next four days. Seven spots in the single-elimination Knockout Rounds remain up for grabs.
The scenarios for games tonight and tomorrow ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/jsgyntCXtA
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) November 25, 2025
The Lakers, Clippers and Grizzlies are the only teams with a chance to win Group B and the Lakers have already taken down Memphis. So if they were to defeat the Clippers, they would hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over both teams and thus, clinch the group.
Anytime the Lakers and Clippers face off the energy in the building is a bit increased, but raising the stakes with it being a Cup game should lead to an incredible atmosphere. A victory for the Clippers would put them in prime position to win Group B as well, but they wouldn’t clinch unless the Grizzlies were to lose to the Pelicans on Wednesday. The Clippers and Grizzlies face each other in their final group stage game on Friday.
The Lakers have been on a good run lately, having won four straight contests and welcoming back LeBron for his first action of the season. The Clippers, meanwhile, have been struggling and have lost four of their last five games, though superstar forward Kawhi Leonard did return for their most recent game and he is expected to suit up tonight as well.
Lakers center Deandre Ayton out vs. Clippers
Unfortunately for the Lakers, they will be without starting center Deandre Ayton for this game against the Clippers. The big man suffered a right knee contusion in the first half of the Lakers’ win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday night and did not return to the game. Expect Jaxson Hayes and Maxi Kleber to be relied upon in his absence.
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