Leaving Las Vegas? The NBA Cup championship game is doing exactly that.
After being held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for its first three years, the championship game for the league’s in-season tournament will be held in Indianapolis at Butler University’s Hinkle Fieldhouse next season, the league announced on Tuesday.
The game is set for Friday, Dec. 11, and group-play games will take place on “Cup Nights” from Oct. 30 to Nov. 27. The league also announced on Tuesday the respective groups for next year’s tournament:
- East Group A: Detroit, Toronto, Orlando, Milwaukee, Brooklyn
- East Group B: New York, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Miami, Indiana
- East Group C: Boston, Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Washington
- West Group A: Denver, Houston, Phoenix, Dallas, Utah
- West Group B: Oklahoma City, Minnesota, the LA Clippers, New Orleans, Memphis
- West Group C: San Antonio, the Lakers, Portland, Golden State, Sacramento
The Athletic reported in December that the league was not under contract with T-Mobile Arena to host the NBA Cup championship in 2026, and the league was “underwhelmed by the on-the-ground enthusiasm for the event.”
Before last season’s NBA Cup final, commissioner Adam Silver also said the league was considering moving the championship. He added that “some storied college arenas” were suggested in conversations with Amazon Prime, which broadcasts NBA Cup games as part of the most recent media rights deal.
The league had announced in September that the semifinals of the in-season tournament would be held at home sites. In years past, those also took place in Las Vegas. Next season, those will take place Dec. 8 or Dec. 9.
Despite the move, the NBA maintains a strong relationship with Las Vegas. In March, the league’s Board of Governors voted to approve exploring new franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle. Las Vegas has also hosted the league’s primary summer league competition since 2004.
The New York Knicks won last year’s NBA Cup, beating the San Antonio Spurs in the championship game. Six months later, New York won its first NBA championship in 53 years by beating the Spurs again.
“You’ve got to give the NBA credit,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said in December. “Everybody naturally fights change or wants to say something against change. I was one of those guys when they came up with the Cup idea, I was like, ‘Oh, man, for what? In the middle of the season? We are trying to do this and that and practice and blah, blah, blah.’ And as time goes on, you have to give — starting with Adam, you have to give him a lot of credit for being innovative when it comes to things happening in the NBA, and this is one of them.
“This is a really, really neat thing.”
— Joe Vardon contributed to this story.
