In two years of the NBA's in-season tournament, the Sixers have never advanced past the Group Play stage. Perhaps the third time will be the charm in what is now known as the NBA Cup.
"I don't know what to say about the cup," Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said after the team's practice on Thursday, "because we sure haven't played very well in it... I think it's a great competition, I think it adds to the regular season [some] spice, and it's good. I would like us to play better in it, so no time better than right now."
On Friday night, the Sixers will play host to the Boston Celtics in what is more than a rematch of opening night, when Tyrese Maxey's eruption and VJ Edgecombe's historic debut led the Sixers to a dramatic win at TD Garden. It will also be the opening game of NBA Cup Group Play, the first of four games the Sixers will play against their groupmates in an effort to advance to the Knockout Rounds.
How does Group Play work? Since the Sixers have never been there, what are Knockout Rounds? What is the point of all of this? Will the courts be bright again? Consider this a comprehensive primer for all things NBA Cup:
Group Play
In each conference, there are three groups comprised of five teams. Every team plays each of its groupmates once during Group Play. The Sixers' schedule within Eastern Conference Group B is as follows:
• Oct. 31 vs. Boston Celtics (Amazon Prime)
• Nov. 14 @ Detroit Pistons
•Nov. 25 vs. Orlando Magic (NBC)
• Nov. 28 @ Brooklyn Nets
Four teams from each conference advance beyond Group Play: the winners of each group and one wild card team. It is determined by records, and the top tiebreaker is point differential. So when NBA Cup games are out of reach, do not expect teams with leads to run the clock out. Teams treat those minutes as crucial during NBA Cup action because every basket could be the difference in a tiebreaker, either for the leader of a group or a Wild Card spot.
Knockout Rounds
From there, it becomes pretty simple. The four teams in each conference form an eight-team, single-elimination bracket. All games in the Knockout Rounds also count as games for the regular season, until the NBA Cup Championship, which is an independent contest of sorts. The two teams remaining at that point will end up playing an additional game on top of their 82-game slates for the regular season.
Three games in the Knockout Rounds – both semifinal contests on Dec. 13 and the winner-take-all championship on Dec. 16 – will take place in Las Vegas.
Prizes
Aside from the usual – bragging rights and whatnot – the reward for winning games in the NBA Cup is a simple one: money. Players on teams that reach the Knockout Rounds receive financial bonuses, which grow depending on how far their teams advance.
The exact figures for the 2025 NBA Cup prizes have not been announced or reported as of this writing. But they should be slight increases over the numbers from last year:
Result Prize per player
Lose in quarterfinals $51,497
Lose in semifinals $102,994
Lose in championship $205,988
Win championship $514,970
To someone like Joel Embiid, these bonuses can seem insignificant. But what about Hunter Sallis, an undrafted rookie on a two-way contract? If the first two years of NBA Cup action are any indication, the bonuses mean a lot to those players – and the ability to provide them is a point of pride for the higher-paid players.
Courts
Yes, the courts will be bright colors again. For what it's worth, the Sixers' court is a bit less bright this time around:
THE SIXERS ARE 4-0 (INSTANT OBSERVATIONS)
Sixers 117, Celtics 116 | Hornets 121, Sixers 125
Magic 124, Sixers 136 | Sixers 139, Wizards 134 (OT)
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