Lakers drawn into Group B for NBA Cup along with Suns, Thunder, Spurs

The NBA revealed the groups for the NBA Cup on Friday with the Lakers being drawn into a tough group once again.

The Lakers’ bid to repeat as In-Season Tournament (IST)/Emirates NBA Cup will have to go through a very interesting group for the 2024-25 season.

On Friday, the NBA revealed the groups for the competition now known as the NBA Cup. The Lakers were drawn into Group B, which consists of the Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Games begin on Nov. 12.

Last season, both the Jazz and Suns were in the Lakers’ group. In fact, the Lakers beat Phoenix twice during the IST, once in group play and once in the quarterfinals. The Pelicans and Kings were the other two teams to advance out of the groups.

The obvious intriguing match-up will be Victor Wembanyama against the Lakers. Oklahoma City will likely be the favorite on paper in the group heading into the season, but the Lakers played the Thunder very well last year. While OKC added more size this off-season, the Lakers have to feel confident about that matchup.

The Suns are largely the same team the Lakers saw last season while the Jazz will be the battering ram of the group, especially if Lauri Markannen is dealt.

There will be a bit of a change to the format of the NBA Cup this season. Group games will still take place on Tuesdays starting in November and running into the first week of December with the winner of each group and one wild card advancing to the knockout round.

The first knockout games will also take place at the higher seed's home court, too. The change comes in the scheduling of the semi-final and final games.

Whereas the first knockout games were played on Monday and Tuesday last season before the semi-final game in Las Vegas on Thursday and the championship game on Saturday, this season's schedule will be a bit more spaced out.

Quarterfinal games will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 10, and Wednesday, Dec. 11, this year. The semi-final will then be played on Saturday, Dec. 14 and the final will come on Tuesday, Dec. 17.

While there was no official reason given for the change, the Lakers and Pacers both facing post-IST slumps might have played a role. Each side rushed through the knockouts of the IST, then immediately jumped right back into the regular season schedule. This year, with more time to breathe between games, perhaps the whole thing won’t feel quite as rushed nor will it negatively affect teams that make the title game or deep runs.

Now, the question is, will the Lakers hang a SECOND banner when they repeat as champions?

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.