PHOENIX — The NBA is bringing back the NBA Cup for the 2024 season and on Friday, the league held a group draw, where the league's 30 teams were placed into one of six groups (three for the Western Conference, three for the Eastern Conference).
The Phoenix Suns were placed into the West B group along with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs and defending NBA Cup champion Los Angeles Lakers.
Each team was given a seed based on their win-loss record in the 2023-24 season. In the West B group, the Thunder are the No. 1 seed, the Suns are the No. 2 seed, the Lakers are the No. 3 seed, the Jazz are the No. 4 seed and the Spurs are the No. 5 seed.
The exact dates of the games have not been announced, but the Suns will play the Lakers and Spurs at home at the Footprint Center and travel to play the Thunder and Jazz.
How does the NBA Cup work?
The NBA Cup will begin with the first games on Tuesday, Nov. 12 with the first games in the group stage round. Each team will play four group stage games on Tuesdays and Fridays between Nov. 12 and Dec. 3. The NBA is calling those nights "Cup Nights." Each team will play two group-stage games at home and two games on the road.
At the conclusion of the group stage, the team with the best record in NBA Cup games in each group, along with two wild card teams (one per conference) will advance to the knockout rounds.
The wild card teams will be the two teams with the best records in NBA Cup games that finished in second place in their groups.
If teams end up tied, a winner will be decided (in this order) by the head-to-head record in group play, group play point differential, total points scored in group stage games, the teams' record in the 2023-24 season and, if necessary, a random drawing.
The knockout rounds will be single-elimination and will begin with the quarterfinals on Dec. 10-11. The semifinals will be on Dec. 14 and the NBA Cup championship game will be played on Dec. 17.
Quarterfinal games will be hosted by the teams with the best record in group stage games. The semifinals and championship game will be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Players on teams that advance to the knockout round will get a to-be-determined amount of prize money out of a pool. The amount of money the players receive will be based on where their team finishes.
In 2023, players on teams that lost in the quarterfinals (New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings) received $50,000 each. Players on the teams that lost in the semifinals (Milwaukee Bucks and New Orleans Pelicans) received $100,000 each. Players on the team that lost in the championship game (Indiana Pacers) received $200,000 each and the players on the team that won the NBA Cup (Los Angeles Lakers) received $500,000 each.
Do NBA Cup games count toward a team's regular season record or stats?
Every game except for the championship will count toward a team's regular season record and statistics.
The teams that do not qualify for the knockout rounds will play two regular season games on either Dec. 12 or 13 and Dec. 15 or 16.
The losing teams from the quarterfinals in each conference will play each other in a regular season game on Dec. 12, 13, 15 or 16.
All teams will finish with 82 games on their record.
When will the Suns 2024-25 schedule be released?
The NBA has not announced the exact date for next season's schedule to be released, but if it follows the pattern of recent years, the schedule should be released sometime in the first half of August. The Suns will begin their season in October.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events every year, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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