The NBA Cup is back in action for the 2024 season. The tournament was introduced last year, where it functions as a midseason competition running alongside the NBA regular season. 

It is a bracket-style format with teams from both conferences competing. 

The Cup games are put into the regular season, with certain matchups counting toward both the tournament and the regular season standings. It was designed to add more excitement to the NBA regular season and gives players and fans something to look forward to outside of the playoffs. 

Each conference has three groups of five teams that compete. 

West Group A consists of the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Sacramento Kings, the Houston Rockets and the Portland Trail Blazers. 

West Group B consists of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Phoenix Suns, the LA Lakers, the Utah Jazz and the San Antonio Spurs. 

West Group C consists of the Denver Nuggets, the Dallas Mavericks, the New Orleans Pelicans, the Golden State Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies. 

On the west side of the bracket, the Thunder clinched the No. 1 seed with a 3-1 record in their group, outscoring opponents by 45 points. Their only loss was in game two, dropping to the Spurs 110-104. 

That was a game where Spurs phenom Victor Wembenyama was not even available. 

The two and three seeds in the west are the Warriors and Rockets, who will face off on Wednesday. 

Both teams lost game four of the tournament, dropping their records to 3-1, but they still managed to get out of their groups on top. 

The fourth seed was given to the Mavericks, who had a higher point differential than the Suns, which ultimately led them to the wild card spot.  

East Group A consists of the New York Knicks, the Orlando Magic, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Brooklyn Nets and the Charlotte Hornets. 

East Group B consists of the Milwaukee Bucks, the Detroit Pistons, the Miami Heat, the Toronto Raptors and the Indiana Pacers. 

East Group C consists of the Atlanta Hawks, the Boston Celtics, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Chicago Bulls and the Washington Wizards. 

The Bucks, who had struggled a bit to find their identity in the regular season, found their stride, going 4-0 and clinching the No. 1 seed on the east side of the bracket. 

The Knicks also went 4-0, beating every team in their group. 

Shockingly, the Hawks defeated the Celtics and the Cavaliers, giving them a 3-1 record in their group and clinching the No. 3 seed. 

The Celtics also went 3-1, but the Hawks had the tiebreaker over them due to head-to-head play.

“I may be biased, but I think Jalen Johnson should be the MVP,” said Tyler Gardner, a senior finance major and Hawks fan. “He’s averaging a double-double in this tournament.”  

The wild card team out of the Eastern conference will be the Magic. 

There is a lot of talk about who will be the MVP of the cup and surprisingly most outcomes are looking at Magic small forward Franz Wagner. He averages 30.5 points per game alongside seven and a half boards and six assists.

“I didn’t even know who Franz Wagner was until the tournament,” said Luke Parris, a senior exercise science major. “If he keeps balling like this, the Hornets may win the whole thing.” 

He is doing all this without star teammate Paolo Banchero, a power forward. 

OKC Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is playing amazing basketball as usual, averaging 30 points per game and seven assists. He has been feasting in the paint, shooting 75% in the restricted area. 

Point guard Jalen Brunson has played great as well, leading his Knicks to an undefeated 4-0 record in group play. He is averaging 27 points per game and was a huge reason for the Knicks’ one-point win against the Hornets. 

He scored 11 points over the last five minutes without committing a turnover.

On Tuesday, Dec. 10, the Thunder and Mavericks as well as the Bucks and Magic will square off in the knockout rounds. The winner of the game will play on Dec. 14 in the semifinals. 

On Wednesday, the Rockets and Warriors as well as the Knicks and Hawks will play each other. The same applies, as the winner of those games will also play in the semifinals.