NBA

The National Basketball Association is the professional basketball league of 30 teams in the United States and Canada.

Why it matters

The National Basketball Association has 30 teams in two conferences. The NBA Cup is played inside its regular season, and every Cup game except the championship counts in the standings, which is why a Cup night affects the playoff race as well as the tournament.

FantasyExplainer

How does fantasy basketball scoring work?

On ESPN, fantasy basketball scoring either assigns a point value to each statistic or compares teams in each statistical category, in head-to-head matchups or season-long standings.

ESPN Fan SupportConfirmed Nov 12, 1:39 AM ET

SportsExplainer

When is the NBA Cup final?

The Emirates NBA Cup 2026 championship game is on Friday, December 11, 2026, at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

NBAConfirmed Nov 11, 12:50 PM ETNext Dec 11

What happened

ESPN lists five scoring formats: Rotisserie, Head-to-Head: Points, Head-to-Head: Each Category, Head-to-Head: Most Categories and Season Points. From: How does fantasy basketball scoring work? Confirmed Nov 12, 1:39 AM ET
Yahoo's default scoring type in Fantasy Basketball is Head-to-Head Points, with points worth 1, rebounds 1.2, assists 1.5, blocks 3, steals 3 and turnovers -1. From: How does fantasy basketball scoring work? Confirmed Nov 12, 1:39 AM ET
Yahoo's default Head-to-Head Categories and Rotisserie leagues track nine statistics: points, rebounds, assists, steals, turnovers, blocks, 3-pointers made, field goal percentage and free throw percentage. From: How does fantasy basketball scoring work? Confirmed Nov 12, 1:39 AM ET
Sleeper's default format for new fantasy basketball leagues is Lock-In Mode, in which one game per week, per player, counts toward the matchup score. From: How does fantasy basketball scoring work? Confirmed Nov 12, 1:39 AM ET
The quarterfinals are on December 4 and 5, and the semifinals are on December 8, December 9 or both. From: When is the NBA Cup final? Confirmed Nov 11, 12:50 PM ET
Group play runs through Friday, November 27, and eight teams advance: the six group winners and one wild card from each conference. From: When is the NBA Cup final? Confirmed Nov 11, 12:50 PM ET
The championship is the only one of the 67 Cup games that does not count toward the regular-season standings. From: When is the NBA Cup final? Confirmed Nov 11, 12:50 PM ET
The New York Knicks won the previous NBA Cup, beating the San Antonio Spurs 124 to 113. From: When is the NBA Cup final? Confirmed Nov 11, 12:50 PM ET