SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 11: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs posts up against Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors in the first half at Chase Center on February 11, 2026 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that , by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images It’s day two of the NBA’s schedule drop for the 2026-27 season (why is this necessary?), with the Emirates NBA Cup groups being announced today. The Spurs wound up in Group C, along with the Lakers, Warriors, Kings and Trail Blazers. After seemingly always ending up in the “Group of Death” in past years, this is a relatively friendly one that the Spurs should be favored to advance out of. The groups are set and the schedule is OUT 👀Starting October 30, all 30 teams will compete for the @emirates NBA Cup with 8 teams advancing out of groups into the knockout rounds, with the Championship held at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, December 11!See the FULL Cup… pic.twitter.com/M2tq17ATcQ— NBA (@NBA) August 12, 2026 As a reminder, each team will play each other once during the regular season between October 30 and November 27, and the winners of each group will advance, along with a wildcard team from each conference. As always, the quarterfinals and semifinals count as regular season games, while the final does not count in any way other than towards the 65-game rule. (Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama thanks you!) The 22 non-qualifying teams play two standard regular-season games during the knockout rounds to fulfill the 82-game schedule, and losers of the quarterfinals play one regular season game. A new change this season is like the quarterfinals, the semifinals will be hosted by the higher-seeded team, while the Final will take place at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on December 11. In the past, the semifinals and final were held in Las Vegas, but relatively low attendance due to short turnaround notice for fans to travel played a role in moving the event back to home arenas. Last year was the first time the Spurs won their group and advanced, and they surprisingly beat the Lakers in Los Angeles in the quarterfinals without Victor Wembanyama to advance to Vegas. Wemby then returned from his 12-game absence due to a calf strain but played limited minutes off the bench as the Spurs got their first of what would become three surprising beatdowns of the Thunder across 12 days before falling to the Knicks in the final: a surprising precursor to what would come in the playoffs. (This was also the first time the Cup winner went on to win the NBA Championship.) Below is the Spurs’ Cup schedule. You can also click here to get more information about the Cup itself. Are you starting to like this event now that the Spurs are more competitive? Group Play Friday Nov. 6 — at Sacramento Kings, 9:00 PM CT (broadcast TBD) Friday Nov. 13 — vs. Golden State Warriors, 8:30 PM CT on Prime Wednesday Nov. 25 — at Portland Trail Blazers, 9:00 PM CT on ESPN Friday Nov. 27 — vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 9:30 PM CT on Prime Knockout Rounds Quarterfinals — Friday Dec. 4 and Saturday Dec. 5, hosted by higher seeded teams. Semifinals — Tuesday Dec. 8 and/or Wednesday Dec. 9, hosted by higher seeded teams (I’m guessing the uncertainty of date is due to not knowing the teams and locations, and if a double-header is feasible or not). Final — Friday, Dec. 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Regular season games for the disqualified teams will take place on the other days during this time frame. The NBA will release all 30 teams’ complete regular season schedule tomorrow at 2:00 PM CT. ...read more read less