Jamal Murray may be one of the faces of the fledgling NBA Cup in its second year, but he wasn’t just acting when he was asked if these games mean anything extra. Maybe he was being a good salesman by establishing the stakes,

The team with the best head-to-head record in group play wins the group. The winners of each group, along with two wild card teams, advance to play in the knockout rounds. From there, it’s like the playoffs in the middle of the regular season. The teams play until someone wins the championship.

The NBA Cup continues with 12 games on Friday night. The tournament runs through Dec. 17. It was called the In-Season Tournament last year when it debuted, after years and years of Commissioner Adam Silver wanting to add something extra to the regular season. All 30 teams take part and will play four group-stage games.

Prize money for players participating in the 2024 NBA Cup has increased by about a 3% over last year's in-season tournament.

The 2024 NBA Cup tipped off Tuesday night with the first eight games on the schedule in the league's in-season tournament. While the event has a fancy new name (the Emirates NBA Cup) and revamped court designs,

The in-season tournament, known as the NBA Emirates Cup, is back. With new court designs for all 30 teams, the tournament tipped off Tuesday night with a pair of high-profile returns in each conference.

But more importantly! They lost their first NBA Cup game of the season! That’s what the fans care about, right? That’s what fans are talking about after the game, right? Don’t you care? Don’t the players care?