On Friday, the NBA announced the groups for the second annual In-Season Tournament, now known as the Emirates NBA Cup because Emirates can’t help themselves from sponsoring cups. ESPN made a whole show revealing the groups, and the only Charlotte Hornets conversation consisted of a random dig from Richard Jefferson about the existence of Hornets fans.
Richard Jefferson following the reveal of East Group A for the NBA Cup:
“I didn’t even know there were Hornets fans.” 😒 pic.twitter.com/a4R36WaEbY
— /r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) July 13, 2024
It’s just another example of ESPN turning into a joke of a sports network. I get multiple push notifications every time Bronny James puts his shoes and socks on, yet we want to pretend that cheering for a small market team is worth mocking. But I digress.
Here’s the process for determining the groups:
- Teams are grouped into five tiers of three based on where they finished in the conference standings last season
- Each of the three groups in each conference gets one team from each of the five tiers
The Hornets were drawn into Eastern Conference Group A:
- New York Knicks
- Orlando Magic
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Brooklyn Nets
- Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets were always going to have a tough group because, by rule, they’re going to the worst team in the group based on last season’s standings. However, they didn’t get any favors in the teams that were drawn from each pool. The Knicks look significantly better than last season and might push Boston for the East’s top seed. The Magic are arguably the best team from their tier (along with the Cavs and Pacers). But the big stroke of misfortune is landing the 76ers from the third tier. The other possible draws were the Heat and the Bulls. The 76ers are far and away the best team from that group.
The Hornets will play each of the other four teams in their group with the hopes of advancing to the knockout round. Winners of each group and one wild card from each conference will make the eight team knockout stage.
Just like last season. the Cup matches will be played on Tuesdays and Fridays in November starting on November 12 and will feature branding and color schemes to make sure you know you’re watching a cup game.
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