The 19-1 Thunder are currently the favorites to win the 2025 NBA Cup (-125 at FanDuel ). The Bucks won the competition last year, and the Lakers won the initial version in 2023. Tuesday, Dec. 9: Heat at Magic, 6 p.m. ET | Knicks at Raptors, 8:30 p.m. ET

The NBA Cup is entering its knockout stages. Here's what to know for the eight remaining teams vying to get to Las Vegas.

Follow along with live updates around Emirates NBA Cup action, including Oklahoma City improving to 19-1 after winning their 11th straight game.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday all featured group stage games for the Cup, and Friday's slate concluded that round of the tournament. We now know the eight teams that will advance to the knockout stage: the Knicks, Magic, Raptors and Heat in the East, and the Thunder, Lakers, Spurs and Suns in the West.

How they got here: Toronto advanced as the No. 2 seed with a 4-0 record in NBA Cup play, but it had clinched its spot a week ago with a win over Washington. New York secured its spot by beating Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee on Friday and clinching Group B, thanks to some big Duece McBride 3-pointers helping the team pull away in the fourth.

The NBA knows you can't get too much of a good thing. Shortly after the Pacers beat the Washington Wizards 119-86 in a matchup of the teams with the two worst records in the league, it was announced the teams will play again in Indianapolis on Dec. 14 at 3 p.m.

The NBA Western Conference Cup standings have now been altered after the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Denver Nuggets on Friday.

This is the other MVP race where established stars merely confirm their existence and rising stars get a chance to announce their arrival. A few years ago, Tyrese Haliburton defined the latter when he pulled the Indiana Pacers to the NBA Cup title game, then last summer went to the NBA Finals.

Over in the Eastern Conference, the Raptors and Magic cruised to 4–0 records to win Group A and Group B, respectively. The Knicks won Group C with a 118–109 win over the Bucks on Friday, and Miami clinched the wild card with both the Pistons and Cavaliers losing.

Two regular season games have been added to the Detroit Pistons' schedule, following their NBA Cup defeat to the Orlando Magic on Friday, Nov. 28.