NBA Cup Semifinals to Be Played at Team Arenas Starting in 2026-27 Season

The NBA Cup semifinals will not be played at a neutral site starting with the 2026-27 season.

During the board of governors meeting on Wednesday, the NBA announced the semifinals for the NBA Cup will be played at team arenas. The finals will still be held at a neutral site.

Since the league added the NBA Cup to the schedule with the 2023-24 season, the semifinals and finals have been played at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Vegas will still host the final two rounds of the tournament this season. Those games will be played on Dec. 13 (semifinals) and 16 (finals).

The NBA did not confirm if Las Vegas would remain the host site for the championship game after 2025-26 campaign, only stating it would be at a neutral site.

Using the 2024-25 NBA Cup tournament as an example, the two semifinal games would have been played at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee and Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.

The Bucks and Thunder won their semifinal games, defeating the Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets, respectively.

One potential reason for the NBA to make the change is the semifinal game costs the designated home team one home game in the regular season, which means they don't get the revenue that comes with it.

Since the championship game doesn't count toward the overall regular-season standings, the league can justify keeping that at a neutral site. It also gives the game a unique feel and atmosphere if it's held at a marquee location, like Las Vegas.

The Bucks defeated Oklahoma City in last year's title game. The Los Angeles Lakers won the inaugural NBA Cup during the 2023-24 season by defeating the Indiana Pacers in the championship game.

This year's NBA Cup schedule begins with group play on Oct. 31.