NBA Cup Is Here: Knicks-Sixers & LeBron's Lakers-Warriors Showdown Headline Opening Night
The NBA Cup is officially back, and the league didn't come to play games—well, actually, it literally did. The opening night of group play on Oct. 30 is a certified banger: the reigning champion New York Knicks will run it back against LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers, while LeBron's new squad—wait, no, that's the Lakers—will head to San Francisco to face the Golden State Warriors. Yes, the King vs. the Splash Bros. On a random Friday. In a tournament game. It's going to be electric.
The Knicks Are The Team To Beat
Fresh off a historic run—winning both the NBA Cup final and then the actual NBA Finals to end a 53-year drought—the Knicks aren't sneaking up on anybody. They're not even hanging a banner for the Cup (iconic move, honestly). But they're back in the fold, drawing the Indiana Pacers on Nov. 13 and the Miami Heat on Nov. 27. New York is the hunted, and everyone's gunning for the crown.
LeBron's Last Dance Starts Here
Speaking of hunted—LeBron James said his move to Philly was his final free agency decision. So yeah, the Sixers just became the most-watched show in basketball. The Knicks-Sixers rivalry is already nuclear, and now you're adding King James to the mix? Opening night of the Cup is going to feel like a playoff game in October. The league knows exactly what it's doing.
Lakers-Warriors: The Old Guard Is Still Box Office
Meanwhile, LeBron's former team—the Lakers—head to Golden State to face Stephen Curry and the Warriors. These two franchises have defined an era, and even after all these years, a Lakers-Warriors matchup is still must-see TV. The first NBA Cup champion (Lakers in 2023) vs. a team that's always dangerous. Expect fireworks.
What Else To Know
The full NBA Cup schedule is out, and Cup games run every Friday from Oct. 30 through Nov. 27, with extra games on Nov. 24 and 25. Group winners plus a wild-card from each conference move on to the quarterfinals (Dec. 4-5), semis (Dec. 8-9), and the title game at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Dec. 11. The Bucks took it home in 2024, the Knicks in 2025—who's next?
The full 2026-27 NBA schedule drops Thursday at 3 p.m. ET. But honestly, the Cup already gave us the best games of the year. Let's go.