The NBA has announced the first part of the 2025-26 schedule in the form of Cup Groups.
The excitement you’re feeling in the air? That’s Cup fever, baby.
The first details of the 2025-26 NBA season have been announced and it is some loose dates for the Emirates NBA Cup, as well as the groups for the first round of play. In a video posted on X by the NBA on Prime Video account, Cup play will start a bit earlier this year on Oct. 31.
The NBA is coming to Prime this October 24th!
The Emirates NBA Cup tips October 31st on Prime pic.twitter.com/gAXItyWLg7
— NBA on Prime (@NBAonPrime) July 9, 2025
That also seems to indicate that the regular season itself will tip off on Oct. 24, or at least the first games of the season that will be featured on Prime. Halloween would be a much earlier start for the Cup — it started in mid-November in each of its first two seasons of existence.
At the end of the video featuring Blake Griffin and Chet Holmgren, the groups each team will find themselves playing in the initial stage were revealed.
The Sixers find themselves in Group B for the Eastern Conference, along with the Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons, and Brooklyn Nets. It appears the league used teams’ records for last season before randomizing them into groups. The Sixers end up sharing a group with two teams from last season’s Cup as well in the Nets and Magic.
The groups are set for the Emirates NBA Cup 2025.
All 30 NBA teams were randomly drawn into groups of five within their conference based on win-loss records from the 2024-25 regular season.
The groups are available below. pic.twitter.com/ZZVUwtp3fO
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) July 9, 2025
While the exact dates aren’t finalized, it was announced that group play will take place from Oct. 31 through Nov. 28. On top of that, the order of which teams will play each other has been announced. The Sixers will start the Cup on the road, playing at the Nets and then at the Pistons. Then they’ll host the Celtics and conclude by hosting the Magic. Here is a full view of how it is broken down.
Group Play games in the Emirates NBA Cup 2025 will take place on “Cup Nights” from Oct. 31 – Nov. 28.
Each team will play one game against each of the four opponents in its group.
The six group winners and one wild card from each conference will advance to the… pic.twitter.com/KWFelLAeFN
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) July 9, 2025
It’s a little bit surprising the NBA released this now with summer league in full swing, and not say, a month or two from now when absolutely nothing is going on. At least Cup diehards, which there are surely many, can get an early head start on planning for this year’s tournament.