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2024 NBA Cup Group Play Draw to Be Held Friday; New Logo Unveiled in Video

Tyler Conway@@jtylerconwayX.com LogoFeatured Columnist IVJuly 11, 2024

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 18:  A look at the 2023-24 In-Season Tournament Championship Trophy before the game  on December 18, 2023 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2023 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images

The first look at the 2024-25 NBA season is coming sooner than you think.

The NBA announced it will host the draw to determine the groups for the 2024-25 NBA Cup on Friday:

NBA Communications @NBAPR

All 30 NBA teams will be randomly drawn into groups of five within their conference based on win-loss records from the 2023-24 regular season.<br><br>The six groups will be unveiled by ESPN tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET on NBA Today: Emirates NBA Cup Group Reveal. <a href="https://t.co/FQSpNiix23">pic.twitter.com/FQSpNiix23</a>

The Los Angeles Lakers won the inaugural NBA Cup last season, with LeBron James winning tournament MVP.

This year's format will follow the same one introduced last year. Teams will be broken down into six groups of five, with each conference having three groups. Within the conferences, the teams are separated into tiers of three. Seeds Nos. 1-3 are part of one group; seeds Nos. 4-6 are part of the next and then down the line, with each group consisting of three teams.

This is done to—at least in theory—separate the teams into tiers.

Teams then play a round-robin tournament between their group members, two games each at home and on the road, to determine the group winner.

The winners of the three groups and one "wild card" team advance to the knockout stage, which consists of head-to-head matchups in a winner-moves-on format. Every game besides the NBA Cup championship goes on the team's regular-season record.

Teams that are eliminated from the NBA Cup will have their regular-season games made up as the tournament goes on.