Must-Watch Matchups from Every Group

The group play portion of the 2025 NBA Cup, launched this week, affords some intriguing matchups on the early docket.

The last word in-season reindeer video games are set to be staged this late fall/early winter, because the NBA posted the primary directions on learn how to buck the Milwaukee Bucks from their energetic perch as in-season champions.

With its offseason in full swing, the Affiliation revealed who will play who in preliminary group occasions throughout the third annual NBA Cup in-season event. Vacation bookends will outline the slate, as such video games will get underway on Halloween and can run by way of Black Friday earlier than the knockout parts are staged amidst Christmas preparations.

The Milwaukee Bucks are the defending champions of the 2024 in-season event, taking up the spot the Los Angeles Lakers earned within the inaugural version one 12 months prior.

Whereas the aim and worth of the NBA Cup has been tightly debated and questioned, it may be argued {that a} win within the early showdown supplies some form of which means for up-and-coming groups looking for to clear their throats and make an announcement for the more-desired event that lingers within the spring. Whether or not the assertion is sought by a uncertain contender or a brand new entrant looking for to throw its hat within the championship ring stays to be seen, however the six teams revealed earlier this week have loads of matchups that characteristic each.

With the trail to in-season glory formally paved, which landmarks stand as probably the most harmful? BallIsLife highlights the highest matchup from every group.

East Group A: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Atlanta Hawks

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been very happy to quietly tread water amidst Japanese Convention chaos: the rising checklist of long-term accidents and teardowns among the many different contenders has pushed a disappointing end to a historic season to the backburner of hardwood consideration and the East’s common season winners atoned for the potential lack of Darius Garland by including Lonzo Ball in a commerce with Chicago.

The Atlanta Hawks, then again, are attempting to salvage the Trae Younger period by profiting from the revamped convention playoff image, including Boston champion Kristaps Porzingis and buying and selling as much as choose Derik Queen (which price them subsequent 12 months’s first-round decide). The Cup will imply a bit extra to every facet: Cleveland will search for some type of validation that final 12 months’s run was no fluke, whereas the Hawks (who collapsed after incomes a visit to Vegas in final season’s IST) have an opportunity to earn some constructive early returns on their dangerous splurging. 

East Group B: Boston Celtics @ Orlando Magic

Irrespective of your ideas on the Orlando Magic’s stunning Desmond Bane gambit, one has to credit score them for making a seismic transfer whereas the Japanese iron is scorching. That’s partly due to the Jayson Tatum-less Boston Celtics, who’ve engaged in a mini-renovation that has opened the East up a bit and already bid farewell to Porzingis and Jrue Vacation. The destiny of different current mainstays and Larry O’Brien Trophy hoisters like Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, and Derrick White remains to be in limbo as of press time. 

The Magic don’t get to rise into the highlight usually, usually propelled by draft evening fortunes like Shaquille O’Neal, Dwight Howard, and Paolo Banchero. Whereas Banchero, in contrast to O’Neal, has proven some willingness to stay round in Central Florida for some time, it’s time for some progress past aggressive showings towards the mainstream contenders. Successful a bunch that encompasses a Celtics group treading unsure waters and different statement-seeking squads (Brooklyn, Detroit, Philadelphia) could be a constructive step ahead and re-assure at the very least some critics of the dangerous Bane gambit. 

East Group C: Milwaukee Bucks @ New York Knicks

In the event you’re into NBA Cup historical past, the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks are the one groups to achieve the knockout spherical in every of the primary two editions of the in-season competitors. Each are at essential factors on their respective franchise timelines and one other such look could be validation that they’re heading in the appropriate instructions. 

The group appears tailored for the Knicks, one other group that has stored a static beginning 5, to win however defending early-winter winner Milwaukee shall be hungry for any type of early momentum after they have been summarily dismissed by the Indiana Pacers in yet one more opening spherical. Time will inform which facet of the equation that Giannis Antetokounmpo is on, because the tenured Bucks famous person didn’t precisely stifle discuss of a commerce to Manhattan in feedback to web persona IShowSpeed. In an try and appease Antetokounmpo, the Bucks added the similarly-skilled Myles Turner, who has performed a serious position in every of the Knicks’ previous two postseason vanquishings by the hands of the aforementioned Pacers. 

The teams are set for the Emirates NBA Cup 2025.

All 30 NBA groups have been randomly drawn into teams of 5 inside their convention primarily based on win-loss data from the 2024-25 common season.

The teams can be found beneath. pic.twitter.com/ZZVUwtp3fO

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) July 9, 2025

West Group A: Minnesota Timberwolves @ Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder

Amidst a trio of rebuilders rises a Western Convention Finals rematch that little question stands as the category of the sequence.

In contrast to a lot of the squads chasing them, each groups come wanting much like those that lingered among the many NBA’s closing 4 final 12 months earlier than the Thunder’s eventual triumph and every can have lots to show as they search a return journey. Their offseasons up to now have as a substitute been outlined by re-upping with what they’ve: the Timberwolves re-upped with Julius Randle and Naz Reid (in addition to October’s new payday for Rudy Gobert) whereas the Thunder has stored its championship core along with paychecks as a result of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams.

West Group B: Dallas Mavericks @ LA Lakers

Amidst a 12 months of drastically declining public notion, every part’s beginning to pattern in Nico Harrison’s route: his Dallas Mavericks landed the highest decide within the NBA Draft (clearly used on Cooper Flagg), Luka Doncic’s Lakers have been a first-round afterthought, and the Slovenian’s fellow SoCal franchise face LeBron James is reportedly displeased with the way in which the Doncic deal was dealt with.

A good displaying within the NBA Cup be a great way for the Mavericks to supply some type of assurance that Harrison’s imaginative and prescient is the way in which to go, however the Lakers may use that vindication as effectively. Los Angeles, after all, was the unique winner of the in-season competitors, taking down the Pacers in Sin Metropolis again in December 2023. 

West Group C: Denver Nuggets @ Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets have been in probably the most awkward, if not winnable, conditions amongst final 12 months’s NBA contenders: whereas the group misplaced to the growing older Golden State Warriors as a second seed, it was usually accepted that final 12 months’s group consisting primarily of homegrown skills was forward of schedule and earned a mulligan towards a current champion. The identical bittersweet luxurious received’t be afforded to them this time round, because the Rockets splurged for seasoned famous person Kevin Durant, sacrificing two of final 12 months’s main architects (Dillon Brooks and Jalen Inexperienced) to the Phoenix Suns.

Houston will get to see the Warriors once more in Group C, however dealing with towards a more true, more moderen contender in Denver shall be a greater probability to see the place they stand. The Denver Nuggets, who took eventual champion Oklahoma Metropolis to the brink after the stunning ousting of Michael Malone, have stored busy this season by including Tim Hardaway Jr. and Cameron Johnson to Nikola Jokic’s fold. The Rockets added Durant to place up a longtime famous person within the top-heavy West and going up towards the Nuggets in group play shall be a highly-anticipated early take a look at.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags