What is NBA Cup, the football-like competition that returns for the second time ever

NBA Cup returns today, Tuesday November 12, with the first eight games of this brand-new competition. This is just the second edition of the Emirates NBA Cup, created purely for the necessity of drawing crowds and spectators towards NBA games during the NFL regular season in November and December.

This way, a tournament was created in a similar vein to football competitions: a lengthy group stage followed by a knockout stage, semi-finals and a grand final in December.

However, in order to not interrupt the NBA season, all games, except for the final, count for the regular season. That includes the quarter finals and semi-finals, so the teams who lose in the knockout phase later play one additional match.

Los Angeles Lakers will defend their first ever NBA Cup

All 30 NBA teams play in the competition. Six groups of five teams are created, three for each Conference (East and West). Teams play four games in the group stage, two at their home stadium and two as visitors, only playing once with each team.

The six leaders of each group qualify for the next phase and two more for the best second team of each conference. Quarterfinals will be played this year December 10 and 11, Semi-finals on December 14 and the Final on December 17, the only game that doesn't count for the NBA season.

As it was the case last year, the Semis and Final take place in Las Vegas. Last year, Los Angeles Lakers won the first ever NBA Cup over Indiana Pacers; New Orleans Pelicans and Milwaukee Bucks were semi-finalists.