The road to the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup — formerly known as the In-Season Tournament — is underway as the groups have been drawn for the upcoming event.
The #EmiratesNBACup 2025 Group Draw results!
— NBA (@NBA) July 9, 2025
Starting October 31, all 30 teams will compete for the NBA Cup with 8 teams advancing out of groups into the knockout rounds, with the semifinals and championship held in Las Vegas, December 13 and 16! pic.twitter.com/VJur4Hv0lL
Emirates NBA Cup odds aren't available yet, but we will share the group results, with the tournament running from October 31 to December 16.
2025 NBA Cup odds
There are no official odds for the 2025 NBA Cup yet, but it's reasonable to believe that the Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, and New York Knicks — the five favorites on the NBA Finals odds board — would be favored to win the Cup.
The toughest road looks to be ahead for the Nuggets and Rockets, who share a group with Golden State, San Antonio, and Portland. Conversely, the Knicks (Hornets, Heat, Bulls, Bucks) and Cavaliers (Hawks, Pacers, Raptors, Wizards) both should go relatively unscathed in their groups.
NBA Cup groups
The league's 30 teams will all compete in randomly drawn groups for the opening round, divided by conference, as listed below:
| East Group A | East Group B | East Group C |
|---|---|---|
 Cleveland Cavaliers |
 Orlando Magic |
 New York Knicks |
 Atlanta Hawks |
 Philadelphia 76ers |
 Milwaukee Bucks |
 Indiana Pacers |
 Boston Celtics |
 Miami Heat |
 Toronto Raptors |
 Detroit Pistons |
 Chicago Bulls |
 Washington Wizards |
 Brooklyn Nets |
 Charlotte Hornets |
| West Group A | West Group B | West Group C |
|---|---|---|
 Oklahoma City Thunder |
 Los Angeles Lakers |
 Denver Nuggets |
 Minnesota Timberwolves |
 Los Angeles Clippers |
 Houston Rockets |
 Phoenix Suns |
 Dallas Mavericks |
 Golden State Warriors |
 Sacramento Kings |
 Memphis Grizzlies |
 San Antonio Spurs |
 Utah Jazz |
 New Orleans Pelicans |
 Portland Trail Blazers |
🥇: Group winner
🥈: Wild Card
NBA Cup explained
Group Play
Each team will begin the tournament in one of six groups, divided by conference and randomly drawn from tiers based on the previous season's record, to ensure relative competitive balance.
Within each group, all teams will play regular-season games against each other on designated Tournament Nights from October 31 to November 28: Every Friday and also Tuesday, November 25, and Wednesday, November 26.
The records in those games determine who advances to the Knockout Round.
Knockout Round
The Knockout Round is comprised of eight teams, which begins on December 9-10:
- The winners of each of the six groups
- A wild-card team from each conference (the second-place team with the best record)
The Knockout Round is a single-elimination bracket. Teams in each conference with the best record will get home-court advantage in these matchups.
The semifinals and finals take place in Las Vegas on December 13 and 16, with the winner of each conference facing off for the NBA Cup.
Teams that make the knockout round will be awarded portions of an as-of-yet undisclosed prize pool, increasing the further they make it. A Tournament MVP and All-Tournament Team will also be awarded after play has concluded.
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Understanding NBA Cup odds
Sportsbooks will post odds for the NBA Cup during the prior offseason. These odds are adjusted throughout the season as players switch teams, show steady improvement, or are injured. Sportsbooks will also adjust the NBA odds based on handle and liability to certain teams.
NBA Cup odds will usually look like this:
- Los Angeles Lakers +1,300
This means that on a $100 bet, you'll stand to win $1,300 if the Lakers win the tournament. If it's close to the end of the tournament and the NBA has a particularly dominant team, you might see a minus sign (-) ahead of its odds.
- Denver Nuggets -180
This means you have to bet $180 to win $100 on a Nuggets tournament win.
Above we have listed the American odds. However, these are easy to convert to decimal odds or fractional odds with our odds converter tool. And don't forget to check out our NBA forum if you're interested in chatting with other basketball bettors about NBA odds.
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2025 NBA Cup MVP odds
Read our full NBA In-Season Tournament MVP odds analysis to learn more.
