CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CHARLOTTE SPORTS LIVE) — The Hornets announced their schedule for the second annual NBA in-season tournament.
The team will play four games in Group Play for the event, now known as the Emirates NBA Cup. The Hornets open at Orlando on Nov. 12 before playing at Brooklyn on Nov. 19. Charlotte’s Nov. 29 home game vs. New York will be broadcast on NBA TV, and the Hornets conclude Group Play against Philadelphia on Dec. 3.
All 30 NBA teams have been randomly drawn into groups of five within their conference based on win-loss records from the 2023-24 regular season. Beginning Nov. 12 and continuing through Dec. 3, each team will play four designated Group Play games on “Cup Nights.”
Eight teams will advance to the Knockout Rounds: The team with the best standing in Group Play games in each of the six groups and two “wild cards” (the team from each conference with the best record in Group Play games that finished second in its group).
The Knockout Rounds will consist of single-elimination games in the Quarterfinals (played in NBA team markets on Tuesday, Dec. 10 and Wednesday, Dec. 11) and Semifinals and Championship (played in Las Vegas on Dec. 14 and Dec. 17, respectively). The Knockout teams will compete for a prize pool and the NBA Cup championship trophy.
All 67 games across both stages of the Emirates NBA Cup will count toward the regular-season standings except the Championship. Each team will continue to play 82 regular-season games in the 2024-25 season, including those games that are part of Group Play and the Knockout Rounds.
Besides the name, there is one other tweak to the tournament from last year. Overtime scoring has been removed from the point differential and total points tiebreakers. Those are the second and third tiebreakers, after head-to-head record, in group play.
Last year, the Hornets went 1-3 in Group Play.
Here is the Hornets’ Group Stage schedule:
Nov. 12
- at Orlando Magic
- 7 p.m.
Nov. 19
- at Brooklyn Nets
- 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 29
- vs. New York Knicks
- noon
Dec. 3
- vs. Philadelphia 76ers
- 7 p.m.
The NBA regular season starts the third week of October.