Following a successful first year that saw LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers win the inaugural In-Season Tournament over the Indiana Pacers, the contest is being renewed for a second season.
All 30 teams are set to go head-to-head once again to compete for the Emirates NBA Cup and give fans some high-stakes basketball months before the playoffs tip off.
Large-scale tournaments have become popular in the last month with so many eyes on the Copa America and Euros, but here’s a quick refresher on how the NBA’s In-Season Tournament works.
Teams are placed into groups of six depending on conference and record and play each other once. The winners of each of those groups as well as the second-place team with the best record and point differential move onto the knockout stage where they play elimination-style single-game series to advance.
On Friday, the NBA announced how those groups would be set up for the 2024-25 edition of the tournament.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Group A:
Minnesota Timberwolves
Los Angeles Clippers
Sacramento Kings
Houston Rockets
Portland Trail Blazers
Group B:
Oklahoma City Thunder
Phoenix Suns
Los Angeles Lakers
Utah Jazz
San Antonio Spurs
Group C:
Denver Nuggets
Dallas Mavericks
New Orleans Pelicans
Golden State Warriors
Memphis Grizzlies
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Group A:
New York Knicks
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Group B:
Milwaukee Bucks
Indiana Pacers
Miami Heat
Toronto Raptors
Detroit Pistons
Group C:
Boston Celtics
Cleveland Cavaliers
Chicago Bulls
Atlanta Hawks
Washington Wizards
