The Elite Eight: The 2025 NBA Cup Knockout Bracket is Set

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Following the dramatic conclusion of the group stage on Friday night, the field for the 2025 NBA Cup knockout round is officially set. Eight teams—the six group winners and two wild-card entries—will compete in a single-elimination tournament, with the quarterfinals being hosted on the campus of the higher seeds before the tournament moves to Las Vegas for the Semifinals and Championship.

Four teams finished group play with a perfect 4-0 record: the Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Los Angeles Lakers. The remaining four teams—New York, San Antonio, Miami, and Phoenix—finished 3-1, with Miami and Phoenix claiming the coveted Wild Card spots.

Here is the official bracket and schedule for the Quarterfinals:

Date	Matchup	Time (EST)	Location
Tuesday, Dec. 9	Miami Heat at Orlando Magic	6:00 PM	Kia Center, Orlando, FL
Tuesday, Dec. 9	New York Knicks at Toronto Raptors	8:30 PM	Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
Wednesday, Dec. 10	Phoenix Suns at Oklahoma City Thunder	7:30 PM	Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Wednesday, Dec. 10	San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers	10:00 PM	Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA

Eastern Conference Bracket Breakdown

The Eastern Conference featured intense battles for the group-winner spots:

No. 1 Seed Orlando Magic (4-0) vs. Wild Card Miami Heat (3-1): The Magic secured the top seed in the entire conference thanks to a superior point differential. They will host their Florida rivals, the Heat, who squeezed into the Wild Card spot after a chaotic night of results. This matchup creates a rare schedule quirk, as these two teams will now play five regular-season games against each other.
No. 2 Seed Toronto Raptors (4-0) vs. No. 3 Seed New York Knicks (3-1): The Raptors cruised to a 4-0 record to win Group A, securing the No. 2 seed. They will host the Knicks, who won the highly contested Group C by defeating the defending Cup champions, the Milwaukee Bucks, on the final night.

Western Conference Bracket Breakdown

The Western Conference saw the two title favorites win their groups, while the San Antonio Spurs emerged from the toughest group stunningly:

No. 1 Seed Oklahoma City Thunder (4-0) vs. Wild Card Phoenix Suns (3-1): The league-leading Thunder, who won Group A, will host the Suns, who clinched the sole Western Conference Wild Card spot despite losing their final group game to the Thunder. This sets up an immediate and compelling rematch of the two Western powerhouses.
No. 2 Seed Los Angeles Lakers (4-0) vs. No. 4 Seed San Antonio Spurs (3-1): The inaugural Cup winners, the Lakers, won their group and will host the resurgent Spurs. San Antonio, led by rookie Victor Wembanyama, won the “Group of Death” (Group C) on the final night to earn their spot, setting up a thrilling California-Texas showdown.

The Road to Vegas

The winners of the Quarterfinals will advance to the neutral site Semifinals in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, December 13. The Championship Game, which is the only game that does not count toward the regular-season standings, will take place in Las Vegas on Tuesday, December 16.

The winning team’s players will each receive a bonus of $\$530,933$ for the victory.