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NBA rocked by rigged poker and basketball game scandals<\/p>\n
More than 30 people have been indicted in two federal cases known as Operation Royal Flush and Operation Nothing But Net, prosecutors say.<\/p>\n
The NBA’s in-season tournament returns for its third year. The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> and Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> won the last two tournaments, and with over $500,000 for each player on the winning team on the line, it’s certainly something several of the game’s biggest stars will show out for.<\/p>\n The first games of the tournament begin on Halloween night. And the NBA Cup has historically been a decent indicator of future success. In 2023, the Lakers won and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. However, their adversaries in the finals, the Indiana Pacers<\/a>, reached the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to the eventual champion Boston Celtics<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 2024, the Bucks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> in the finals. The Bucks fell in the first round, but lost to the Pacers, who wound up reaching the NBA Finals. We all know what the Thunder wound up doing<\/a>.<\/p>\n So, with that in mind, it’s time to start paying attention. Here’s everything to know for the NBA’s third NBA Cup tournament:<\/p>\n 2025 NBA Cup format<\/p>\n NBA teams are split into six groups of five. Each team will play against one another, four games in total, with the best record in each group advancing to the knockout stages. Should multiple teams be tied record-wise after the four group stage games, the following tiebreakers will be implemented in order:<\/p>\n Head-to-head recordPoint differentialTotal points scoredWin-loss record from the previous NBA regular seasonRandom selection2025 NBA Cup prize pool<\/p>\n Prize money will only be handed out to players on teams that advance to the knockout stages. Here is what each player earns depending on how far their team gets in the tournament:<\/p>\n Quarterfinals: $51,497Semifinals: $102,994Runner-up: $205,988NBA Cup winners: $514,971 each2025 NBA Cup groups<\/p>\n The NBA Cup groups are determined by putting all 15 teams in each conference into five pots. Each pot contains one of each of the following:<\/p>\n A team that finished the previous regular season as a top-three seed in conferenceA team that finished the previous regular season ranked 4-6 in conferenceA team that finished the previous regular season ranked 7-9 in conferenceA team that finished the previous regular season ranked 10-12 in conferenceA team that finished the previous regular season 13-15 in conference<\/p>\n One member of each pot is drawn randomly and thrown into a singular group. Here is how the groups fell this year:<\/p>\n East A:\u00a0Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers<\/a>,\u00a0Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, Washington WizardsEast B:\u00a0Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons<\/a>, Orlando Magic<\/a>, Brooklyn Nets<\/a>, Philadelphia 76ers<\/a>East C:\u00a0New York Knicks<\/a>, Milwaukee Bucks<\/a>, Chicago Bulls<\/a>, Miami Heat<\/a>, Charlotte HornetsWest A:\u00a0Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a>, Sacramento Kings<\/a>, Phoenix Suns<\/a>, Utah JazzWest B:\u00a0Los Angeles Lakers<\/a>, LA Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies<\/a>,\u00a0Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans<\/a>West C:\u00a0Houston Rockets<\/a>, Denver Nuggets<\/a>, Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs<\/a><\/p>\n West C stands out as one of the most talented groups. The Houston Rockets finished last year in second place in the Western Conference and added Kevin Durant in the offseason. The Nuggets are perennial championship contenders as well, and the Warriors were one of the toughest team in the NBA after adding Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline.<\/p>\n The San Antonio Spurs are no slouch either. They may not have performed well last year, but much of their shortcomings were due to the absence of Victor Wembanyama. He returns this year, alongside a litany of talented young players. The Spurs certainly aren’t slouches.<\/p>\n 2025 NBA Cup winner odds<\/p>\n *All odds provided are via BetMGM<\/a><\/p>\n