While we still don't have their full regular schedule, on Tuesday, the Sacramento Kings' full NBA Cup schedule was released. Here is everything you need to know about that schedule and the NBA's second annual regular season tournament.
What Is The NBA Cup?
The NBA Cup, formerly known as the "In-Season Tournament," is the NBA's second annual midseason tournament. Although I just called it a midseason tournament, the competition actually takes place in the early part of the season. This year, it will be played sporadically from November 12 to December 17. The league created this tournament to bring more attention to the regular season. So far, this mission has been a success.
How Does The NBA Cup Work?
The NBA Cup has two parts to it. Group Play and then the Knockout Rounds. For Group Play, teams will be divided into six groups – three Western Conference groups and three Eastern Conference groups. From there, eight teams (the group winners and the two non-group winners with the highest scores from each conference) will advance to the Knockout Rounds.
Those eight teams will play in a three-round, single-elimination bracket to determine the winner of the 2024 NBA Cup.
The important dates for the NBA Cup, formerly known as the In-Season Tournament. pic.twitter.com/VIPwMBazzC
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) August 13, 2024
All games in the NBA Cup count toward teams' regular season schedules, except for the NBA Cup championship game.
Sacramento Kings 2024 NBA Cup Schedule
As we mentioned in the introduction, we now know the Kings 2024 NBA Cup schedule for the Group Play stage. Here it is.
Opponent | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
Vs. Minnesota Timberwolves | November 15, 2024 | 7 PM PST/10 PM EST |
@ Los Angeles Clippers | November 22, 2024 | 730 PM PST/1030 PM EST |
@ Portland Trail Blazers | November 29, 2024 | 7 PM PST/10 PM EST |
Vs. Houston Rockets | December 3, 2024 | 7 PM PST/10 PM EST |
A few things to note about this. First, in a surprising turn of events (considering we could be a darkhorse contender in the West), the Kings have no nationally televised Group Play games. Second, the Kings play three of their four Group Play games on Fridays and only one on Tuesday, which makes it even more of a head-scratcher that they don't have any nationally televised games.
Lastly, and arguably most importantly, the Kings have a real chance of making it out of the Group Play stage again. Three of the four teams (the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, and Portland Trail Blazers) they are playing against are ranked behind them in projected win total, according to most betting websites.
Meanwhile, the one team that is ranked ahead of them in those books (the Minnesota Timberwolves) is someone they had a great deal of success against last year.
How Did The Kings Far In The 2023 NBA Cup?
As we alluded to a second ago, the Kings fared pretty well in the NBA Cup/In-Season Tournament last year. In the competition's inaugural season, our Kings made it out of the Group Play stage and clinched the two seed (out of four seeds) in the Western Conference bracket.
They eventually fell to the New Orleans Pelicans (their kryptonite last season) in the first portion of the Knockout Rounds. But that is still a good start for the first season of the brand-new event.
What Does The Winner Of The NBA Cup Receive?
According to the NBA's website, "The champion will receive a trophy, the NBA Cup. In addition, a prize pool will be allocated to players on teams that qualify for the Knockout Rounds, with allocations increasing depending on how far a team progresses in the competition."
Last season, each player on the Los Angeles Lakers (the team that won it all) got 500,000 dollars in prize money. Meanwhile, everyone on the Indiana Pacers (the runner-up) got 200,000 dollars.