Here we go again with for the second annual Emirates NBA Cup, previously known as the In-Season Tournament. The new-ish edition to the NBA format is set to kick off tomorrow, November 12, with an exciting doubleheader on TNT. The tournament begins at 7:30 p.m. ET, when the New York Knicks will face the Philadelphia 76ers. A highlight of the game will be the season debut of Joel Embiid, who is making his long-awaited return to the court.
Dialing in the second game of the evening will feature the Golden State Warriors taking on the Dallas Mavericks at 10 p.m. ET. This matchup will mark the return of Klay Thompson to the Bay Area, as he faces his former team after leaving the Warriors to join the Mavericks in free agency.
Get this, the Emirates NBA Cup will see all 30 NBA teams split into six groups of five, with three groups from the Western Conference and three from the Eastern Conference. Each team will play the other teams in its group once.
Here’s how it will shape up. The six group winners, along with one wild card team from each conference, will advance to the knockout stage. From there, all games will be single-elimination, with the quarterfinals held at home venues. The tournament will conclude in Las Vegas with the semifinals and championship game, scheduled for December 14 and 17, respectively.
Last season, the Los Angeles Lakers were crowned the inaugural Emirates NBA Cup champions last season, finishing the tournament undefeated with a perfect 7-0 record. LeBron James, who led the team to victory, was named the first-ever In-Season Tournament MVP. Reflecting on the achievement, James said, “We’re the first champions of the in-season tournament, and nobody can ever top that. It’s great to do it with a historical franchise and just a great cast of funny, engaged, competitive men over here.”
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