The 2025-26 season will include the third edition of the Emirates NBA Cup, the in-season tournament introduced by commissioner Adam Silver and the league back in 2023-24. The Los Angeles Lakers were the first champions of the tournament, followed by the Milwaukee Bucks last season.
The Emirates NBA Cup is given special significance in a few ways — including a financial bonus for every player on the championship team — but its most distinct difference from regular season basketball is the courts. Every single team has their own court design that is only used for NBA Cup action.
The 2025-26 Emirates NBA Cup court designs were unveiled on Friday morning, including a uniform design shared by all 30 teams with very specific detailing.
The NBA has unveiled this year's Emirates NBA Cup courts: pic.twitter.com/YPM2E5lop9
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) October 24, 2025
There are six details shared by all 30 Emirates NBA Cup courts. The first is a team-based angled gradient that both signifies the host team’s primary colors and a direction with Western or Eastern Conference meaning. The Lakers court is centered around a gold gradient.
The court apron, purple in the Lakers’ case, is colored to match the Nike Statement Edition uniforms. The home team will wear those jerseys in every Emirates NBA Cup game. Every court also is on a symbolic 5×5 grid to represent the 5v5 nature of basketball.
Every court prominently features the host city or state at center court, the “LA” logo for the Lakers. Finally, each court has personalized overlays and details to represent the franchise’s history. For the Lakers, that’s the 17 championship stars on the sideline and the engraving at the bottom of the center-court trophy to represent their 2023 cup title.
Lakers 2025 Emirates NBA Cup schedule
The Emirates NBA Cup tips off Friday, Oct. 31 with group action. The Lakers are in West Group B, and below is their full schedule, as well as the schedule of the quarterfinals, semifinals, and championship rounds.
Friday, October 31
Los Angeles Lakers at Memphis Grizzlies
6:30 p.m. PT, Prime Video and Spectrum SportsNet
Friday, November 14
Los Angeles Lakers at New Orleans Pelicans
5:00 p.m. PT, Spectrum SportsNet
Tuesday, November 25
L.A. Clippers at Los Angeles Lakers
8:00 p.m. PT, NBC and Peacock
Friday, November 28
Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Lakers
7:00 p.m. PT, Prime Video and Spectrum SportsNet
Quarterfinals: Tuesday, December 9 and Wednesday, December 10
Semifinals: Saturday, December 13
Finals: Tuesday, December 16
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