
Milwaukee Bucks' Bobby Portis gestures after scoring a basket (Credit: AP)
The league officially announced that Milwaukee, the defending NBA Cup champion, will face Miami, New York, Chicago, and Charlotte in its group-stage matches in this season's tournament. The league announced the teams for the tournament's third year, which begins on October 31. The group stage lasts until November 28. The tournament's semifinals will take place in Las Vegas on December 13 after the quarterfinals on December 9 and 10. The championship game is scheduled for December 16 in Las Vegas and will not be included in either club's season record or statistics.
Each team will play two home games and two away games throughout the group stage. Matchups against two other teams that did not qualify for the Cup playoffs will be added to the schedules of teams that do not advance to the quarterfinals or semifinals, extending the season to 82 games.
For the participating teams, quarterfinal and semifinal matches will count toward the regular season. Along with the rest of the NBA's schedule rollout for the 2025–2026 season, full schedules will be revealed in August.
NBA 2025 Groups
East Group A: Cleveland, Indiana, Atlanta, Toronto, Washington
East Group B: Boston, Detroit, Orlando, Brooklyn, Philadelphia
East Group C: Milwaukee, New York, Chicago, Miami, Charlotte
West Group A: Oklahoma City, Minnesota, Sacramento, Phoenix, Utah
West Group B: LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Memphis, Dallas, New Orleans
West Group C: Houston, Denver, Golden State, Portland, San Antonio