The NBA Cup 2026 will start with two great games: LeBron against the Knicks and Doncic against the Warriors
New York Knicks, current NBA champions, will face the King James' Sixers, while the Lakers will visit Golden State.
The NBA Cup 2026 already has a schedule and will kick off with some of the most attractive matchups that the competition can currently offer. The reigning NBA champions, New York Knicks, will face LeBron James' Philadelphia 76ers, while the Los Angeles Lakers will visit the Golden State Warriors on a first day that will capture much of the spotlight.
The NBA announced the complete schedule of the NBA Cup this Wednesday, along with the 15 games to be broadcast nationally on ESPN, Prime Video, or NBC/Peacock. The tournament will once again occupy much of the calendar throughout November before reaching its decisive rounds in December.
The Knicks will start their title defense against the Sixers
The highlight of the first day will be the duel between New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers, scheduled for October 30th. It will be the second matchup between these two teams in just ten days, after the NBA announced that the Knicks will host Philadelphia on October 20th during the season's opening day.
The game will also have a special element with the presence of LeBron James, who decided to join the Sixers as a free agent to face a final stage of his career with the aim of winning another championship.
The Knicks arrive as the major actors of the previous season. The New York team first won the NBA Cup and then ended a drought of 53 years without winning the NBA championship.
Therefore, the NBA has decided that the Knicks will raise their champions' banner on the opening night of the season, on October 20th, against Philadelphia.
The New York team defeated the San Antonio Spurs in both the NBA Cup final and later in the NBA Finals. Despite winning the tournament the previous season, the Knicks became the first competition's champion not to hang a banner to commemorate the title.
Lakers and Warriors to meet in the NBA Cup
The other key game of the first day will be the matchup between Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors.
Two of the NBA's most popular franchises will face off in a game that will be especially intriguing due to Stephen Curry's presence in Golden State and the new chapter the Lakers are facing.
The duel is part of the NBA Cup schedule and will be one of the main television attractions on the tournament's opening day.
The competition will once again feature several high-level matchups in the following weeks. The games will primarily be played on Fridays, with additional matches also scheduled for November 24th and 25th.
What will the format of the NBA Cup 2026 be like?
The NBA Cup will be divided into six groups that were announced last June. Each team will play their matches in the group stage, and the top team from each group will earn a spot in the quarter-finals.
They will be joined by one wildcard team from each conference, making it eight teams continuing in the competition.
The quarter-finals will take place on December 4th and 5th, while the semifinals are scheduled for December 8th and 9th.
The grand final will be held on December 11th at the Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, the chosen venue for hosting the competition's ultimate game.
| Phase | Date |
|---|---|
| Opening day | October 30th |
| Group stage | October 30th - November 27th |
| Additional matches | November 24th and 25th |
| Quarter-finals | December 4th and 5th |
| Semifinals | December 8th and 9th |
| Final | December 11th |
| Final venue | Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis |
The Knicks will also face the Pacers and Heat
New York's schedule won't end with their matchup against Philadelphia. The Knicks will also play against the Indiana Pacers on November 13th and the Miami Heat on November 27th.
The Knicks' presence will be one of the main attractions of this edition after the historic season the franchise had.
New York won the NBA Cup and then secured the NBA championship by defeating the Spurs again in the Finals. The team will now seek to repeat its success in a competition that, despite its short history, has become one of the main events on the calendar.
Lakers and Bucks already know what it's like to win the competition
The NBA Cup will celebrate its fourth edition in 2026 since its inception.
The Los Angeles Lakers were the first champions of the competition in 2023 when the tournament was still known simply as the regular season tournament.
A year later, the Milwaukee Bucks claimed the 2024 title. The Knicks took the most recent edition after a historic season where they also ultimately clinched the NBA championship.
Now, the competition will face a new edition with some of the league's key figures as protagonists.
The full season schedule will be announced this Thursday
The NBA still has to announce the complete schedule for the 2026-27 regular season.
The league has confirmed that it will release all games this Thursday at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, at which point all the dates and times for the upcoming season's matches will finally be known.
Prior to that, the NBA has already teased one of the major events of the early weeks: an NBA Cup starting with Knicks-Sixers and Lakers-Warriors as its main attractions.
LeBron James' presence in Philadelphia, the Knicks' title defense, and the ever-enticing Lakers-Warriors matchup ensure that the competition will once again feature several games capable of capturing the entire NBA's attention.
The NBA Cup will once again occupy a significant portion of the calendar during November and will culminate in December with a final that will crown the new champion in Indianapolis.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La NBA Cup 2026 empezará con dos partidazos: LeBron contra los Knicks y Doncic frente a los Warriors
