Schedule revealed for the newly renamed Emirates NBA Cup
The league said Thursday that the second annual tournament will begin Nov. 12 with regular-season fixtures designated as NBA Cup games.
As with last year's competition, teams will be drawn into six groups of five for a single round-robin. Group play games will take place across four Tuesdays (November 12th, 19th, 26th and December 3rd) and three Fridays (November 15th, 22nd and 29th).
The quarterfinals of the single-elimination knockout bracket will be played on December 10th and 11th. Then the tournament will shift from NBA team markets to Las Vegas, where T-Mobile Arena (home of the NHL's Golden Knights) will host the semifinals on December 14th and the championship game on December 17th.
The NBA Cup groups will be drawn Friday night during a live ESPN broadcast.
The Los Angeles Lakers won the inaugural in-season tournament, defeating the Indiana Pacers in the championship game.
The NBA announced in February that a new partnership with Emirates would include branding the in-season tournament with the airline's name beginning with the coming season.