Last season saw the debut of the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament, which saw the LeBron James and Anthony Davis lead the Los Angeles Lakers to the first-ever NBA Cup. The tournament itself was a massive success and is now set to return, being re-branded as the Emirates NBA Cup.
This re-brand includes a new logo, which celebrates the league’s new global marketing partnership with Emirates and also features an image of the championship trophy itself. The Lakers will be looking to repeat as champions and find themselves in Group B along with the Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz.
It is actually a similar group for the Lakers as last season saw them share a group with the Suns and Jazz. Making things tougher perhaps is being in the same group as the Thunder, whom some view as the most talented team in a very deep Western Conference. Having to take on phenom Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs will be no easy task either.
Now the schedule for group play has been revealed and the Lakers know the road they will have to take to become two-time NBA Cup Champions. They will start off with the Spurs on the road before hosting the Jazz. They will then finish with the Suns in Phoenix and then the Thunder at home.
The format for the tournament is unchanged as group play games will be taking place on ‘Cup Nights’ on Tuesdays and Fridays from Nov. 12 until Dec. 3. Each team will play one game against the other teams in its group with two coming at home and two on the road.
Following that, eight teams will advance to the knockout round, the six group winners as well as one wildcard team from each conference. That wildcard team is the team with the best record that finished second in their group with point differential being the tiebreaker.
The quarterfinals of the Emirates NBA Cup will take place on Dec. 10 and 11 with the tournament once again concluding with the semifinals and championship at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The semifinals will take place on Dec. 14 while the finals will go down on Dec. 17.
This tournament gives James and Davis another chance to add some accolades to their time with the Lakers while also giving new head coach JJ Redick an early opportunity to coach in some high-stakes contests.
Lakers group play schedule for the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup
Nov. 15: at San Antonio Spurs, 4:30 p.m. PT (ESPN)
Nov. 19: vs. Utah Jazz, 7:30 p.m. PT
Nov. 26: at Phoenix Suns, 7 p.m. PT (TNT)
Nov. 29: vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, 7 p.m. PT (ESPN)
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