New York landed on an easy-on-paper group for the 2025 NBA Cup.
The NBA officially revealed the six groups for the 2025–26 NBA Cup on Wednesday, marking the third edition of the league’s in-season tournament.
New York, which has been good-not-great in the first two years of competition, learned its path to the Lite O’Brien trophy along with the rest of the L.
And hey, it’s fair to say the Knicks shouldn’t have trouble making it through the group stage given their opponents.
Knicks top seed in NBA Cup East Group C
Will play Hornets & Bulls on road
Will play Heat & Bucks at home
Group play begins October 31 pic.twitter.com/BT8AtHtygV— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) July 9, 2025
Group play begins on October 31 and runs through late November, with the quarterfinals and semifinals set for December in Las Vegas, but if the Knicks want to get there, they will need to fend off efforts by Charlotte, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Miami.
New York landed in, perhaps and on paper, the softest group in either conference. The Knicks will face the Hornets and Bulls on the road while hosting the Heat and defending Cup champion Bucks at Madison Square Garden.
All four opponents, however, come with major question marks. Charlotte and Chicago are projected lottery teams, to say the least. Miami hasn’t escaped play-in territory for a few years. And Milwaukee, despite winning last year’s Cup, enter the season without Dame and facing tons of uncertainty about Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s mindset.
That’s not saying New York doesn’t have its own questions to answer with the core in place for a full season, but a new head coach at the helm and a couple of new bench contributors to bring into the system. The Knicks, however, are the only legitimate lock to end the regular season with home advantage in the first round of the playoffs, if not win the conference outright.
For a bit of meh history, New York is coming off two straight trips to the NBA Cup quarterfinals ending in loss: one to the Bucks in 2023, and the last one to the Hawks at MSG last year.
The #EmiratesNBACup 2025 Group Draw results!
Starting October 31, all 30 teams will compete for the NBA Cup with 8 teams advancing out of groups into the knockout rounds, with the semifinals and championship held in Las Vegas, December 13 and 16! pic.twitter.com/VJur4Hv0lL
— NBA (@NBA) July 9, 2025
2025 NBA Cup — Full Draw
East Group A — Cleveland, Indiana, Atlanta, Toronto, Washington
East Group B — Boston, Detroit, Orlando, Brooklyn, Philadelphia
East Group C — New York, Milwaukee, Chicago, Miami, Charlotte
West Group A — Oklahoma City, Minnesota, Sacramento, Phoenix, Utah
West Group B — L.A. Lakers, LA Clippers, Memphis, Dallas, New Orleans
West Group C — Houston, Denver, Golden State, Portland, San Antonio.