The NBA hoped for years to devise some sort of in-season tournament akin to the types of mid-season competitions that go on in the big European soccer leagues. They finally achieved that goal with the implementation of the NBA Cup in 2023, and now the LA Clippers along with the other 29 teams in the association are preparing for the second iteration of the competition this fall.
Perhaps the biggest reason league leadership had been angling for this kind of move for years was centered around the idea of getting more eyes on the NBA product ahead of the all-important Christmas Day date. Commissioner Adam Silver desperately wanted to get more fans watching the regular season games in November and December.
In his eyes, there was no better way to do that than by incentivizing the regular season just a little more. The full NBA season schedule will be released later this week. But after an announcement on Tuesday, we now know the full schedule for the NBA Cup games.
2024 NBA Cup schedule
Prior to Tuesday, we already knew that the Clippers had been assigned to an NBA Cup group that also included the Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, and Houston Rockets. But now, we know the exact dates and times the Clippers will match up with these foes for group play competition.
Date | Opponent | Time (all times Pacific) |
|---|---|---|
November 15 | Houston Rockets | 5:00 PM |
November 22 | Sacramento Kings | 7:30 PM |
November 29 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 4:30 PM |
December 3 | Portland Trail Blazers | 7:30 PM |
NBA Cup format
This group the Clippers are in represent one of the three Western Conference groups used for the group play stage of the NBA Cup. After each team from each group in both conferences has played against one another in games that also count toward the regular season standings, the team with the best record in each group will advance to the knockout stage.
Similar to how Olympic basketball is conducted, these six teams will then be arranged into a bracket for the knockout stage. Joining them will be two wild card teams, once from each conference. Whichever two teams from their respective conference finished with the best record in group play without winning their group will join the bracket as a wild card.
The remaining eight teams will play in a single-elimination tournament, with the winner at the end earning prize money for their players as well as the NBA Cup trophy. The semifinals and finals of the competition will be played at a neutral site in Las Vegas.