The Los Angeles Lakers made history last season by becoming the first ever NBA In-Season Tournament Champions. While some were skeptical coming into the inaugural competition, the tournament wound up being a positive for the NBA overall, and ultimately ended with LeBron James and Anthony Davis leading the Lakers to victory.
The second edition has undergone some changes with the league partnering with Emirates and the tournament will now be known as the Emirates NBA Cup. This also includes a new logo, which celebrates the league’s new global marketing partnership with Emirates and also features an image of the championship trophy itself.
The Lakers will be looking to repeat as NBA Cup champions in 2024 and the beginning of that road is now known as the groups for the Emirates NBA Cup were revealed with L.A. landing in West Group B along with Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs.
It’s a similar group to last year as the Lakers were also with the Suns and Jazz in 2023. It may be more of a challenge to run the table this time around, however, with the Thunder having arguably the best roster in the West and the Spurs no longer being a pushover.
The format for the tournament will not change this year. Each team will play four group stage games on ‘Cup Nights’ taking place on Tuesdays and Fridays between Nov. 12 and Dec. 3. Following that, eight teams will advance to the knockout stage, each of the six group winners as well as one wildcard team in each conference.
The quarterfinals of the Emirates NBA Cup will take place on Dec. 10 and 11 with the semi-finals and finals once again happening at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 14 and 17, respectively.
With the Lakers being the defending champs, they will surely get every team’s best shot this year.
Lakers and other 2024 Emirates NBA Cup groups
West Group A: Minnesota Timberwolves, L.A. Clippers, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers
West Group B: Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs
West Group C: Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies
East Group A: New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets
East Group B: Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons
East Group C: Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards
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