NBA Cup 2026 Standings: Who Is Still Alive Before the Knockouts
Every team remains mathematically alive in the NBA Cup 2026 standings as of November 4. Only the October 30 opening slate has been completed, leaving 20 teams at 0–0 or 0–1 and nobody facing elimination yet. Minnesota owns the best early point differential at +26, while Miami leads the East at +20. Those margins matter, but three group games remain for every team that has played.
NBA Cup 2026 standings by group
The NBA’s official standings show 10 teams at 1–0, 12 at 0–0 and eight at 0–1 after opening night. Group records take priority, so point differential is not an extra win. It becomes relevant only when teams finish tied after their four Group Play games.
Here is the complete position as of November 4, 2026. The figures in parentheses are point differentials from Group Play, not overall 2026–27 regular-season differentials.
| Group | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East A | Pistons 1–0 (+16) | Magic 1–0 (+7) | Bucks 0–0 (0) | Raptors 0–1 (-7) | Nets 0–1 (-16) |
| East B | Heat 1–0 (+20) | 76ers 1–0 (+5) | Cavaliers 0–0 (0) | Knicks 0–1 (-5) | Pacers 0–1 (-20) |
| East C | Wizards 1–0 (+16) | Celtics 1–0 (+14) | Hawks 0–0 (0) | Bulls 0–1 (-14) | Hornets 0–1 (-16) |
| West A | Nuggets 1–0 (+7) | Mavericks 1–0 (+5) | Jazz 0–0 (0) | Rockets 0–1 (-5) | Suns 0–1 (-7) |
| West B | Timberwolves 1–0 (+26) | Thunder 0–0 (0) | Pelicans 0–0 (0) | Grizzlies 0–0 (0) | Clippers 0–1 (-26) |
| West C | Warriors 1–0 (+17) | Spurs 0–0 (0) | Trail Blazers 0–0 (0) | Kings 0–0 (0) | Lakers 0–1 (-17) |
That table is a snapshot, not a projection. Detroit and Orlando share the best record in East Group A, for example, but Detroit’s +16 margin places it ahead of Orlando’s +7 at this stage. The same distinction separates Miami from Philadelphia in East Group B and Washington from Boston in East Group C.
Who is actually in the strongest position?
Minnesota has built the largest numerical cushion. Its 1–0 record and +26 differential lead West Group B, while the Clippers begin at 0–1 and -26. Miami’s +20 is the largest margin in the Eastern Conference, followed by Detroit and Washington at +16.
Still, one game is a tiny sample. A double-digit opening margin can disappear after one close loss, and an idle team can move directly into first place by winning its first group game. Treating the NBA Cup 2026 standings as a settled hierarchy would be premature.
The cleanest advantage belongs to any 1–0 team because its path remains under its control: keep winning and no differential calculation is required to claim the group. For the 0–1 teams, the task is more complicated. They need wins first, then favorable results elsewhere if multiple clubs finish with the same record.
Honestly, point differential gets discussed too early every year. It matters, but head-to-head record comes before it, and a team that reaches 4–0 cannot be displaced by a margin calculation. Score management becomes meaningful only when the likely record ties begin taking shape later in November.
How qualification and tiebreakers work
Six group winners advance to the quarterfinals, joined by one second-place wild card from each conference. That creates an eight-team knockout field: four Eastern Conference teams and four Western Conference teams.
Each club plays four group games, split between two home dates and two road dates. Because every group contains five teams, clubs do not all play on the same Cup Night. That scheduling imbalance explains why 12 teams still show 0–0 records in the NBA Cup 2026 standings after the October 30 slate.
The NBA applies the following tiebreakers in order:
- Head-to-head record in Group Play.
- Point differential in Group Play.
- Total points scored in Group Play.
- Record from the 2025–26 NBA regular season.
- Random drawing if the tie remains unresolved.
There is one detail that can change late-game strategy: points scored in overtime do not count toward the point-differential or total-points tiebreakers. The game result still counts, but overtime cannot be used to inflate the two scoring-based criteria.
Wild-card qualification makes margin relevant beyond each five-team group. A second-place team is compared with the other second-place finishers in its conference, so a narrow loss can be materially different from a 20-point defeat. That’s the mechanism behind the unusual late-game possessions you sometimes see during Cup play.
What the November 6 Cup Night can change
Nine games are scheduled for November 6: 76ers–Cavaliers, Thunder–Grizzlies, Raptors–Bucks, Wizards–Hawks, Celtics–Hornets, Jazz–Mavericks, Timberwolves–Pelicans, Trail Blazers–Lakers and Spurs–Kings. The slate gives several idle teams their first opportunity to enter the NBA Cup 2026 standings.
Philadelphia, Washington, Boston, Dallas and Minnesota can reach 2–0. No team would clinch a group merely by doing so because Group Play continues through November 27, but 2–0 creates a clear route to qualification with only two games remaining.
The Lakers and Hornets face a different kind of pressure. Both are 0–1 with negative differentials, so another defeat would leave them needing substantial help. Toronto is also 0–1, while Milwaukee opens its schedule in their East Group A meeting.
West Group B deserves particular attention. Minnesota starts at 1–0 and +26, while Oklahoma City, New Orleans and Memphis are all 0–0. Thunder–Grizzlies and Timberwolves–Pelicans will turn a mostly blank group into a more useful comparison.
West Group C offers the same information gap. Golden State leads at 1–0 and +17, but San Antonio, Portland and Sacramento have not played a group game. Readers looking for context from previous editions can revisit our coverage of NBA Cup final matchups and the earlier Spurs–Knicks Cup matchup.
The knockout schedule and regular-season impact
Group Play runs from October 30 through November 27, with Cup dates on November 6, 13, 20, 24, 25 and 27 after the opening slate. The quarterfinals are scheduled for December 4–5, followed by semifinals on December 8–9.
Both rounds will be played at the higher seed’s home arena. The championship is set for December 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, giving the fourth edition of the competition a different final setting from the local-market knockout rounds.
All Group Play games, quarterfinals and semifinals count toward the 2026–27 regular-season standings. The championship does not. That distinction matters if you track playoff positioning or fantasy totals: the final produces a Cup champion, but its result is excluded from each team’s regular-season record.
The current NBA Cup 2026 standings therefore carry two consequences at once. Every result affects tournament qualification and, except for the championship, the 82-game regular season. A November group loss cannot simply be dismissed as an isolated tournament result.
NBA Cup 2026 standings FAQ
How many teams qualify for the 2026 NBA Cup knockouts?
Eight teams qualify: the winner of each of the six groups plus one second-place wild card from the Eastern Conference and one from the Western Conference.
Is any team eliminated from the 2026 NBA Cup?
No. As of November 4, 2026, all 30 teams remain mathematically alive because only the October 30 opening slate has been completed.
What is the first NBA Cup group tiebreaker?
Head-to-head Group Play record is first. Point differential is second, followed by total points scored, 2025–26 regular-season record and, if necessary, a random drawing.
Do NBA Cup games count in the regular-season standings?
Group Play, quarterfinal and semifinal games count in the 2026–27 regular-season standings. The December 11 championship game does not.
When do the 2026 NBA Cup knockout games begin?
The quarterfinals begin December 4 and continue December 5. The semifinals are December 8–9, with the championship scheduled for December 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
