The Eastern Conference’s 15 teams are split into three five-team groups for the 2026 Emirates NBA Cup — Group A, Group B and Group C — each playing a four-game round robin that counts fully toward the regular-season standings while also deciding who advances toward the Cup’s knockout bracket.
If you’re trying to find out who’s in your team’s group, how the East field stacks up, or what it takes to escape group play, here’s the full breakdown.
“In one line: The East side of the 2026 Emirates NBA Cup is divided into Group A (Pistons, Raptors, Magic, Bucks, Nets), Group B (Knicks, Cavaliers, 76ers, Heat, Pacers) and Group C (Celtics, Hawks, Hornets, Bulls, Wizards), with group play set to begin October 30 and continue through Nov. 27.” Below are the teams for each group, how the groups were seeded and what happens once the group stage is over.
| Group | Teams |
|---|---|
| East Group A | Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets |
| East Group B | New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers |
| East Group C | Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards |
The NBA does not make its conference groups by hand, it determines them from a seed. The league divides the 15 teams of the Eastern Conference into five groups of three, and randomly picks one team from each of the five groups to represent each one in each of the three divisions, so each division has one team from each of the five groups, from a likely contender to a rebuilding team.
That is why Detroit (the No. 1 seed in the East) is seeded in Group A and not in the same group as Boston or New York — the goal of the draw is to disperse the top seeds into the three groups.
Detroit will enter Group A as the No. 1 seed, having been a breakout team last season, while Toronto (No. 5) is the best backup. The other three in the group from lower seedings are the Pistons, Raps and Brooklyn — a four-game series of games could go all the way to deciding the group.
Entering as the defending NBA Cup champion and the defending NBA champion, New York joins the East as the Group B #3 seed and Cleveland (No. 4) is a strong co-favorite. Philadelphia and Miami and Indiana round out the field – on paper this is the most contoured out of the three East sides teams with two ranked contenders facing off twice each.
Boston have the No. 2 overall seed in the East, and are the No. 1 club in Group C, with Atlanta (No. 6) also being ranked. The last few seeds are in the hands of Charlotte, Chicago and Washington — Group C is the group that’s more likely to be a lower-seeded team taking care of business against the Celtics.
Both East groups will engage in a round robin format, with each group playing four team opponents twice each (home-road) in October 30-November 27. The three winners in the East groups will play in the knockout bracket and are joined by one wild card: the best non-group-winner in group play across all three East groups.
If the teams are tied, group standings are determined by group-play record, followed by point differential across group games (excluding overtime), and prior-season record, and finally a random draw.
Group play in all three East groups is on the same four-week schedule as in the West: Group play starts Oct. 30 and continues for seven Cup Nights (Oct. 30, Nov. 6, Nov. 13, Nov. 20, Nov. 24-25, Nov. 27) until Nov. 27, 2026. The tournament continues on Dec. 4-5 with quarterfinals, Dec. 8-9 with semifinals and the final championship Dec. 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Four group games per team is quite limited and every result is worthy of being noted. Filipinos can now legally wager the whole race from start to finish with Sports OKBet.
The East field has been split into three groups, with a real co-favorite in two of them — Group A’s Pistons-Raptors split and Group B’s Knicks-Cavaliers both are two-game races, while Boston is clearly the favorite in Group C. Watch the games play out of the East group standings and if you’re betting on a race, then bet on an authorized platform for Philippine bettors. From group to knockout stage, bet live on the Emirates NBA Cup odds on Sports OKBet.
Group A: Pistons, Raptors, Magic, Bucks, Nets. Group B: Knicks, Cavaliers, 76ers, Heat, Pacers. Group C: Celtics, Hawks, Hornets, Bulls, Wizards.
Conference seeding is done by a random draw, with the 15 teams divided into five groups of three based on their overall record from the previous season, and a team is drawn from each group to ensure a balanced mix of seeding in each group, rather than a hand-picked matchup sheet.
Four: 1 winner Group A, 1 winner Group B, 1 winner Group C and 1 winner Group A, B or C by group-play points (best score among all three East groups if no winner in the group).
This is more of a two-team matchup, and not just because New York is the No. 3-seeded team in the East; Cleveland is the No. 4 seed, which means the two teams will be in Group B.
October 30 to November 27, 2026 (same time as the West groups)
