The NBA Finals won’t be the only opportunity for the Philadelphia 76ers to put their hands on silverware.

With the 2025-26 regular season already in motion, also on the calendar are the in-season tournament games — now known as the NBA Cup.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks are the teams that claimed the first two editions of the new NBA tournament, and a healthy Sixers squad has the potential to go on a run.

But in order to get to Las Vegas for the tournament’s final rounds, Philadelphia will need to advance past a loaded Group B that includes the Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic and Brooklyn Nets.

So, what’s in store for the Sixers as they balance both regular-season play and NBA Cup action? Here’s what to know about the tournament’s format, Philadelphia’s group schedule and more:

How does the NBA Cup work?

All 30 NBA teams start in the group stage, where they are divided into six group of five teams each. Teams will compete against those four teams once, with two matches at home and two on the road.

Eight teams will then advance to the single-elimination knockout rounds. Those include the first-place team in each of the six groups and a wild card team in each conference that’s awarded to the second-place finisher with the best overall record.

If multiple teams are tied within a group, the NBA uses the following tiebreakers: head-to-head group record, point differential, total points scored, 2024-25 NBA record and/or a random drawing.

Group play records will count towards each team’s regular-season record. With the NBA having an 82-game season, only 80 games are currently scheduled. The 22 teams that don’t advance to the knockout rounds will play two regular-season games during tournament off nights on Dec. 11/12 and Dec. 14/15. The quarterfinal losers will play each other in a regular-season game, also on those days.

The higher seed hosts the quarterfinal matchup, then the tournament heads to Las Vegas for the semifinals and final. The stats and record in the championship game do not count toward a player or team’s regular-season log.

Sixers’ NBA Cup group schedule

Philadelphia’s group run will begin on Halloween and run until Thanksgiving weekend. Here’s the breakdown:

Friday, Oct. 31: Celtics at Sixers (Prime Video)

Friday, Nov. 14: Sixers at Pistons (NBC Sports Philadelphia)

Tuesday, Nov. 25: Magic at Sixers (Peacock)

Friday, Nov. 28: Sixer at Nets (NBA League Pass)

Should the 76ers advance as the group winner or a wild-card team, they’d advance to the knockout rounds and play either the winner of East Group A, winner of Group C or the East wild card team in a quarterfinal game on Dec. 9 or 10.

The semifinals will take place on Saturday, Dec. 13 with the championship game on Tuesday, Dec. 16, both in Sin City.

For more details about the NBA Cup format, tiebreaker scenarios, prizes and more, check out this helpful explainer article.