Spurs Emirates NBA Cup schedule released: What is it and when do they play?

The Emirates NBA Cup schedule has been announced, giving fans a chance to begin planning a small percentage of which games they want to attend this season. This is the second year the league has presented this in-season tournament-style extravaganza, and maybe this year it will feel more like a real event since they added ‘Emirates’ to the name.

All jokes aside, there’s a little bit of a competitor in all of us, so if you’re saying there’s something else that San Antonio can win, I’m all in. The San Antonio Spurs have been placed in Group B with four other teams, including OKC, the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers and the Utah Jazz. Fans have known about the group for a while, but now you know when and where.

What is the Emirates NBA Cup and what do they win?

It’s an in-season tournament meant to add more excitement to the regular season. Such a long season is often fragmented in terms of fan interest, with the majority of it coming during the back half of the year after the football season has concluded. The League wants to change that and add more intrigue at the beginning of their year, and the Emirates NBA Cup is their solution.

All 30 NBA teams are a part of the tournament and will begin in the Group Play Round. There are six groups total, splitting into three a piece for the Eastern and Western Conferences. You’ll play each team in your group one time each, and the games will be played on Tuesdays and Fridays beginning November 12.

The teams that come out of their groups with the best record will move on to the next round, along with a wildcard team from each conference. Those eight teams will move on to the knockout round, which is a single-game elimination round.

The winners of the knockout round get a trip to Las Vegas to play the semi-finals, followed by the Emirates NBA Cup finals game.

The winners will receive a trophy for their achievement, and players will receive additional money based on how far they advanced from the knockout round. Last season, the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA Cup. The players each received $500,000, and the runners-up got $200,000. An MVP will also be selected for the Emirates NBA Cup, and there will be an All-Tournament team.

Looking at the Spurs’ chances of winning the Cup

The Thunder and the Suns are the biggest threats within the division. The Spurs should be flat-out better than Utah this year, and the Lakers were a play-in team that didn’t improve. They’ve struck out on free agents and trade targets every which way. It doesn’t bode well for their prospects this season. The Spurs, on the other hand, have made significant changes, and their young players are expected to take strides.

Going undefeated isn’t out of the question, as they beat every one of these teams last season at least once, but it isn’t likely. They may have to rely on a wildcard spot, but once you get into the knockout round, it’s all about matchups and timing. Winning the whole thing will be an uphill climb, but it will be much more possible for this team than it was last year's, and growth is what Spurs fans want to see.