For years, the NBA hoped to develop a type of in-season tournament similar to the in-season competitions held in major European soccer leagues. With the introduction of the NBA Cup in 2023, that goal was finally achieved, and now the LA Clippers, along with the association’s other 29 teams, are preparing for the second edition of the competition this fall.
Perhaps the biggest reason league leadership had been working toward this move for years was the idea of bringing more attention to the NBA product before the important Christmas holiday. Commissioner Adam Silver was keen to get more fans to watch regular-season games in November and December.
In his opinion, there was no better way to do that than to promote the regular season 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.
Before 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 face those opponents in group play.
|
Date |
Opponent |
Time (all times Pacific) |
|---|---|---|
|
15 November |
Houston Rockets |
5:00 p.m. |
|
22 November |
Sacramento Kings |
19:30 |
|
29 November |
Minnesota Timberwolves |
16:30 |
|
December 3 |
Portland Trail Blazers |
19:30 |
This group, in which the Clippers are located, represents one of the three Western Conference groups used for the group stage of the NBA Cup. After each team from each group has played each other in both conferences in games that also count toward the regular season standings, the team with the best record in each group advances to the knockout stage.
Similar to Olympic basketball, these six teams will then be placed in a group for the knockout phase. They will also be joined by two wildcard teams, one from each conference. The two teams from their respective conferences that have the best record in group play without winning their group will be placed in the group as wildcards.
The remaining eight teams will play in a knockout tournament, with the winner receiving prize money for their players and the NBA trophy. The semifinals and finals of the competition will be played at a neutral venue in Las Vegas.
