The NBA Cup, In-Season Tournament, Emirates NBA Cup — whatever you want to call it — has injected a new sense of energy into the first half of the NBA calendar the last couple of seasons. From new floor designs to exciting new uniforms and a title game in Las Vegas, the tournament has given fans and players something to truly care about before Christmas in this league.
For the Denver Nuggets, the tournament hasn’t been the kindest to them in the first two years of action. In 2023, they went 2-2 and didn’t make it out of the group play stage, and in 2024, the story was the exact same. While raising a banner for this tournament isn’t exactly the end goal for this organization this season, it would be good for them to at least get to the knockout stage on time.
On Friday, the Association unveiled the special court design for each team to use in the tournament. For Nuggets fans heading to Ball Arena to watch one of the two home games in the tournament (Nov. 7 against the Warriors, Nov. 28 against the Spurs), get ready to see some bold colors.
First look at The Cup court 👀 pic.twitter.com/qFHhSlM8OT
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) October 24, 2025
The flatirons red has been a nice touch on the uniforms over recent years, but this court has a lot of it.
Two years ago, the court was a deep, royal blue color with a yellow stripe through the center. Last year, it was all yellow. The red definitely won’t be as blinding as the all-yellow look, but it still likely won’t be a fan favorite. There is a faint Nuggets logo painted onto the court, a neat addition to the design.
This year, the team is in West Group C, alongside Houston, Golden State, San Antonio and Portland. While Portland likely won’t have their regular head coach on the sidelines in Chauncey Billups, the other three teams have shown that they have the potential to be ferocious contenders in the West throughout the first couple days of the season. NBA Cup play for Denver kicks off on Halloween night when they travel to Portland to take on the Trail Blazers.
