The third iteration of the Emirates NBA Cup tipped off on Halloween -- a little over a week after the 2025-26 NBA regular season began. LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers won the inaugural in-season tournament trophy in 2023,

Follow along with tonight's NBA action as we keep you updated with the latest highlights and happenings around the league.

Friday will be NBA Cup group-play contests. • There will also be NBA Cup group play games on Tuesday, Nov. 25, and Wednesday, Nov. 26. • The semifinals and final will happen on Saturday, Dec. 13 and Tuesday,

The NBA's in-season tournament returns for its third year. The Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks won the last two tournaments, and with over $500,000 for each player on the winning team on the line, it's certainly something several of the game's biggest stars will show out for.

The 2025 NBA Cup begins on Friday. Don't feel ashamed if you didn't know. It's Halloween, after all. You're probably busy, and the tournament has never started this early. The group stage was a November exclusive in 2023.

Four of The Athletic's writers teamed up to rank the 30 NBA Cup courts for this season. Which court did the writers rank as the best?

All of the games count towards the 82-game regular-season standings, with the exception of the championship game. Teams that advance to the knockout round all receive a share of the roughly $18 million prize pool, with teams advancing the furthest getting the largest allotment.

The six group winners plus a wild card from each conference — determined by head-to-head record and point differential — go into an eight-team knockout round bracket (East vs. East, West vs. West, similar to the NBA playoffs where the conferences are separate until the Finals). The knockout round games are single-elimination.

The 2025 NBA Cup is here, which means the weeks-long tournament will tip off on Friday night. We'll get some drama, some in-season intensity as all 30 teams try to win a trophy that will be handed out in Las Vegas. After the Lakers and Bucks have won, we'll see who brings home a title.

The third NBA Cup is underway. The first two iterations of the in-season tournament offered mixed results from a ratings perspective, but the event's piped in some intrigue before the All-Star break.