Utah Jazz NBA Cup schedule: Dates, times unveiled for group-play
Aug 12, 2026, 1:30 PM | Updated: Aug 13, 2026, 10:08 am
Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3) hypes himself up before an NBA Cup game against the Sacramento Kings at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News)
(Photo courtesy of Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — The NBA teased its full schedule release coming later this week with the NBA Cup group-play schedule on Wednesday.
The Utah Jazz learned the dates and times for its four Cup Nights in November this season.
NBA Cup action every Friday in November 🏆 https://t.co/9oUYjutliF
— Chandler Holt (@CHoltSports) August 12, 2026
Full Utah Jazz NBA Cup Schedule – Group Play
- @ Dallas Mavericks on Friday, November 6 at 6:00 p.m. (MT)
- @ Houston Rockets on Friday, November 13 at 6:30 p.m. (MT)
- vs. Phoenix Suns on Friday, November 20 at 7:30 p.m. (MT)
- vs. Denver Nuggets on Friday, November 27 at 7:30 p.m. (MT)
RELATED: Utah Jazz unveil four-game 2026-27 preseason schedule
Utah Jazz Start Fourth NBA Cup Journey In November
In Utah’s West A group are Denver, Houston, Phoenix, and Dallas.
Every offseason in the NBA, there is a lot of player movement. So, ranking groups by last year’s record may seem futile, but it can still be a fun exercise. As it stands, Utah’s group is the third-toughest in the West and fifth overall.
Interestingly, if you remove the Jazz’s 22-60 record, the group jumps from fifth to first. That said, removing the worst record from all six groups drops West A back to fifth overall.
Most likely, the toughest matchup in group play will be the Nuggets, who are led by debatably the best player in the world, Nikola Jokic. The Rockets are a close second, with a more complete roster that features names like Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun, and Amen Thompson.
GROUP DRAW ✉️ pic.twitter.com/XvqlUyLQCe
— NBA (@NBA) August 12, 2026
What Is The NBA Emirates Cup?
The NBA Cup features all 30 NBA franchises competing to earn a spot in the eight-team single-elimination tournament.
Pool play consists of six five-team groups, separated by conference, but not by the league’s existing divisions.
During group play, teams will face the other four members in their grouping once each in Cup games. Then, the winner of each group, plus two wildcard teams, will advance to the eight-team single-elimination tournament.
The semifinals will be played at the home arena of the higher-seeded team, while the championship game will be held at a neutral site in Indianapolis in December, with players competing for a prize pool that increases with each round.
All Cup games except the championship count toward a team’s regular-season record.
Teams that advance to the finals of the NBA Cup will wind up playing 83 total games, though only 82 count toward their regular-season record, while those teams already eliminated will continue to compete in traditional regular-season contests.
The Los Angeles Lakers won the inaugural NBA Cup in 2023, followed by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2024 and the New York Knicks in 2025.
