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By research-backed calculations, the NBA Cup is tied for the the 15th-coolest tournament in American sports, behind (in no particular order) the actual NBA playoffs, the WNBA playoffs, the NFL playoffs, the MLB playoffs, the NHL playoffs, the Men's and Women's NCAA Basketball Tournaments, the College Football Playoff, the US Open (both golf and tennis), the NWSL playoffs, the MLS Cup, and the NCAA Women's and Men's College World Series. It is tied with the WNBA Commissioners Cup, their in-season tournament.
That doesn't mean there aren't still things to rank, people to see and things to win, just that it all must be couched in the silliness that I, a professional, had to look up the last three winners and could only really remember that the Milwaukee Bucks had won.
It's not exactly the world of prestige, but where there is a group stage we are going to rank the groups by difficulty, by which I mean how hard would it be for the top team(s) in the group to make it out — how else am I going to put an asterisk on the Detroit Pistons'' eventual NBA Cup title? We're going from six to one with number six as the easiest. Hang that banner!
This group is a good moment to discuss how injuries have already impacted this ranking. Without the news that Kawhi Leonard would miss the next several weeks (and thus most of the NBA Cup) with knee swelling, this group might have some more teeth. But with Kawhi out ... there's just nothing going on here. The Magic are completely uninspiring, the Bucks look like they need a multi-year home improvement show ... it's just the Pistons and barbecue chicken the rest of the way down.
I know Raptors fans will think I'm being rude to the rest of their roster, but I don't think the Kawhi-less Toronto team is much to write home about. I like Scottie Barnes as much as the next guy, but the depth is so lacking; even the Pistons have question marks, and I could see the Nets messing around and making it out of this group somehow — it's that weak.
Categorically unimpressed by the competition of this group beyond the Celtics, though there is at least speculative intrigue with the Hawks and Hornets. Charlotte is a team that will have many intrigued after their analytically tantalizing 2025, but after trading LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges, they're set up better for the future than for the present. The Wizards have actually looked quite a bit better than I'm giving them credit for, which is what pushed this group above East Group A, and I actually think the Bulls are the worst team here. Caleb Wilson, though? Color me interested so far.
Injuries have robbed this group of the preseason intrigue, and Anthony Edwards is expected to miss two months and thus the entire NBA Cup with a knee injury. Compound that with the horrific situation in Oklahoma City, with probable season-ending injuries to both Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace, and you have a less threatening group than initially projected. Other than the Clippers, all these teams have talent, and the Thunder of course still have major hoopers up and down the roster, but it wasn't what it could have been.
There is a chance I am categorically overrating this group, and I considered bumping them two spots lower, but I believe the duo of the Nuggets and Rockets should theoretically offset how lame the Suns, Mavericks and Jazz figure to be below them. Denver really hasn't looked right this season, but it's only been one week; Houston, meanwhile, projects as a serious contender this season no matter how much I dislike their long-term team composition.
The Jazz and Suns are objectively trying to win games right now, but I find it hard to take them seriously especially with the injuries already plaguing Utah. But this could be a sneaky competitive group; West Group A should make sure to quote me when they negotiate their group's media right deal. Oh they don't do that? Dang.
I'm into this group and I don't want anyone to tell me I shouldn't be. We have three good teams in my opinion, and for all the weirdness going on off the court, the Trail Blazers basketball experience has been pretty fun this year; seeing Damian Lillard back out there in Rip City is great, they have lots of lesser-known players worth watching like Donovan Clingan and Toumani Camara and I'm still curious about if Deni Avdija can just go to the rim every time. They also have serious depth.
The Spurs are still the Spurs, and the Lakers have a really interesting team this year whatever you may think of what they gave up to get it. The Warriors, meanwhile, looked awful to start the year but have since rebounded the vibes off a Yaxel Lendeborg explosion and now I'm totally down. Fire me up for this group.
Alright who approved this? Literally who approved this is this some kind of hidden camera show? This group is so stacked it looks like a joke, some kind of mistake that they didn't realize until after they made it. "Hey Bill, don't forget to make the NBA Cup groups before you go home tonight!" "Got it!" (randomizes the groups and presses send on the Tweet). We have the defending champions, the all-in Cavaliers, the LeBron-Jaylen-Maxey-Embiid 76ers, the Giannis Heat and the reloaded Pacers? This is like ... what?
I know a lot of this is set in stone before a lot of that happened but man did this group become some kind of Frankenstein's monster while nobody noticed. Just 10/10 comedy from the league. Incredible, no notes.
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