NBA Cup 2026 Groups, Dates, Format Revealed for In-Season Tournament

The NBA season is still months away, but the stage is already set for the Emirates NBA Cup.

The league announced the groups, dates and formats for the in-season tournament on Tuesday.

The NBA Cup has added an exciting element to the regular season over the last three years. The Los Angeles Lakers won the inaugural in-season tournament in 2023, while the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks won in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

An interesting twist in this year's in-season tournament is the fact that the championship game will take place at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, where Butler basketball plays.

Last December, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the final game could start taking place at "unique locations" such as "storied college arenas." Hinkle Fieldhouse would certainly qualify as a storied arena.

In the past, the NBA Cup semifinal and championship games have been played in Las Vegas. The league's contract with T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip ended after last season.

Moving games to college campuses provides a change of scenery from what NBA players are used to while giving schools the chance to bring some excitement to their campuses and cities.

The semifinal games won't take place at Hinkle Fieldhouse, however, as they'll instead be played at NBA teams' arenas.

As a refresher, NBA Cup games count towards a team's record like a regular-season game would, though teams who advance to the championship play one additional game on top of the 82 regular-season games.

Last season, players on the Knicks won $530,933 each for winning the championship game. Players on the Spurs earned $212,373 each for finishing as the runner-up, while those who lost in the semifinal got $106,187 each, and players lost made the quarterfinal received $53,093 each.