NBA Cup: How to watch, betting odds and more about the league's in-season tournament

The NBA Cup is back for a second season, starting Tuesday night and running 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.

From there, eight teams move to the quarterfinals and the winners of those games will head to Las Vegas for the semifinals on Dec. 14.

All games in the tournament — except for the championship game — count in the regular-season standings and statistics. The championship game is considered extra and isn't part of the 82-game season for the two teams that make the final.

To the winners: pride, a trophy and money.

Players on the winning team will claim $514,971 each, while $205,988 goes to each player on the runner-up team, $102,994 to players whose teams lost in the semifinals and $51,497 to those players whose teams lost in the quarterfinals.

A breakdown of the groups:

East Group A — New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Charlotte.

Schedule: New York at Philadelphia, Tuesday; Charlotte at Orlando, Tuesday; Brooklyn at New York, Friday; Philadelphia at Orlando, Friday; Charlotte at Brooklyn, Nov. 19; Brooklyn at Philadelphia, Nov. 22; New York at Charlotte, Nov. 29; Orlando at Brooklyn, Nov. 29; Philadelphia at Charlotte, Dec. 3; Orlando at New York, Dec. 3.

East Group B — Milwaukee, Indiana, Miami, Toronto, Detroit.

Schedule: Miami at Detroit, Tuesday; Toronto at Milwaukee, Tuesday; Miami at Indiana, Friday; Detroit at Toronto, Friday; Indiana at Milwaukee, Nov. 22; Milwaukee at Miami, Nov. 26; Toronto at Miami, Nov. 29; Detroit at Indiana, Nov. 29; Milwaukee at Detroit, Dec. 3; Indiana at Toronto, Dec. 3.

East Group C — Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington.

Schedule: Atlanta at Boston, Tuesday; Chicago at Cleveland, Friday; Washington at Atlanta, Friday; Cleveland at Boston, Nov. 19; Atlanta at Chicago, Nov. 22; Boston at Washington, Nov. 22; Chicago at Washington, Nov. 26; Boston at Chicago, Nov. 29; Cleveland at Atlanta, Nov. 29; Washington at Cleveland, Dec. 3.

West Group A — Minnesota, Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento, Houston, Portland.

Schedule: Minnesota at Portland, Tuesday; Minnesota at Sacramento, Nov. 15; LA Clippers at Houston, Nov. 15; Sacramento at LA Clippers, Nov. 22; Portland at Houston, Nov. 22; Houston at Minnesota, Nov. 26; LA Clippers at Minnesota, Nov. 29; Sacramento at Portland, Nov. 29; Houston at Sacramento, Dec. 3; Portland at LA Clippers, Dec. 3.

West Group B — Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah, San Antonio.

Schedule: Phoenix at Utah, Tuesday; LA Lakers at San Antonio, Friday; Phoenix at Oklahoma City, Friday; Oklahoma City at San Antonio, Nov. 19; Utah at LA Lakers, Nov. 19; LA Lakers at Phoenix, Nov. 26; San Antonio at Utah, Nov. 26; Oklahoma City at LA Lakers, Nov. 29; Utah at Oklahoma City, Dec. 3; San Antonio at Phoenix, Dec. 3.

West Group C — Denver, Dallas, New Orleans, Golden State, Memphis.

Schedule: Dallas at Golden State, Tuesday; Denver at New Orleans, Friday; Memphis at Golden State, Friday; Denver at Memphis, Nov. 19; New Orleans at Dallas, Nov. 19; Dallas at Denver, Nov. 22; Golden State at New Orleans, Nov. 22; New Orleans at Memphis, Nov. 29; Memphis at Dallas, Dec. 3; Golden State at Denver, Dec. 3.

If teams get eliminated in group play, they'll have two more games added to their schedule. If teams get eliminated in the quarterfinals, they'll have one more game added.

All teams have only 80 games scheduled so far in the regular season but will play 82. That's why the title game doesn't count; it would be an 83rd game for those teams (the 80 games that are already scheduled, then the quarterfinal, then the semifinal will be their 82 games).

Not every game played over the next month is a tournament game. A quick way to know if it is a tournament matchup: Every team has a new, distinctive court for these games. See those courts, and you'll know it's a Cup game.

According to BetMGM Sportsbook, reigning NBA champion Boston (+400) enters this tournament as the favorite to win the NBA Cup. Cleveland (+700) is the second choice, followed by New York (+800) and four teams — Oklahoma City, Minnesota, Denver and Golden State — are next, all at +1200.

The defending tournament champion Los Angeles Lakers have odds of +1400.

TNT has national doubleheaders Tuesday, then again on Nov. 19, Nov. 26 and Dec 3. ESPN has national doubleheaders Friday and again on Nov. 22. ESPN and NBA TV will show five games — spanning about 13 hours — on Friday, Nov. 29, with games starting at noon and tipping off through 10 p.m.

Local broadcasts will also be available, as usual.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Charlotte Hornets' Brandon Miller, center, dunks between Philadelphia 76ers' Kelly Oubre Jr., left, and Jeff Dowtin Jr. during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Memphis Grizzlies center Jay Huff (30) reacts after scoring as Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) looks on during in the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Nikki Boertman)

KHARKIV REGION, Ukraine (AP) — The four drones were designed to carry bombs, but instead the men of Ukraine's Khartia brigade pack them with food, water and handwarmers and launch them in darkness toward the front line, a 15-minute flight away.

The unit commander who goes by the callsign Kit, or “cat,” pilots the tiny uncrewed aircraft from a basement room he jokingly calls their Airbnb. Guided by the drone's night-vision camera, he drops the 10-kilogram (22-pound) packages one by one as close as he can to the position where as many as five infantrymen battle Russian forces in the late autumn chill. The delivery will hold them for two or three days.

That's about as far as Kit dares look into the future. He knows that the reelection of Donald Trump will change something in his life, but as far as he and other Ukrainian soldiers on the front are concerned, trying to figure out how is a game for politicians. For him, all that matters is the distance he measures in the meters (yards) that Russian forces advance or retreat in the front-line sector that is his responsibility.

“We are trying with all our might to destroy them and win back our territories, so that it does not go any further, so that there are no more destroyed cities and destroyed lives,” Kit said. “We need to focus on the present in our work and try to do it effectively in the here and now.”

But he cannot escape the sense of a gathering storm.

Russia is increasingly hitting the Kharkiv region with unstoppable, building-leveling glide bombs and swarms of drones and chipping away at territory there. Its troops are advancing in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. Up to 12,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia's Kursk border region to help beat back Ukrainian forces there, according to U.S., South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence assessments.

Trump, who has called President Vladimir Putin “pretty smart” for invading Ukraine, has repeatedly criticized American backing of Ukraine. He characterized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “the greatest salesman on Earth” for winning U.S. aid.

Zelenskyy was among the first world leaders to publicly congratulate Trump, and said the two discussed how to end “Russian aggression against Ukraine” when they met in September.

Between now and Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration, the Biden administration has said it will send as much aid to Ukraine as possible to help hold back Russian forces and possess a strong hand in any potential peace negotiations. But Russia is pressing just as hard for an advantage in what most believe are crucial weeks to come.

Aviator, a Khartia soldier launching the supply drones, said he can only do his job and hope for the best. His attention is fixed on how many hours remain before the coming dawn, when Russian forces will be able to spot the uncrewed aircraft and shoot them down. If his mission fails, he knows that the men he calls brothers will suffer.

“You feel you’re useful, that you are in the right place, that the lives and health of our brothers depend on your work," said Aviator, who returned to Ukraine from a job in Poland to join the army. "We’re just doing our job, we don’t have time to worry about the election.”

Tolstiy, who runs a drone repair workshop not far away, knows firsthand what happens to territory captured by Russia. A former infantryman, he fought in Bakhmut and watched the city fall to Russian forces who bombed it to rubble. He confessed that sometimes, reading the news makes him want to give up. But that's simply unthinkable.

“It’s like we’re in another world here,” he said. “When you see that your comrades are injured or killed, it motivates you.”

Lori Hinnant contributed from Kyiv.

Servicemen of Ukraine's Khartia brigade pack a Vampire drone with food and water to launch toward the frontline to Ukrainian positions near Kharkiv, Ukraine, late Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Ukraine's Khartia brigade officer, who goes by callsign Kit, left, sits while his soldiers pilot drones in a shelter on the frontline near Kharkiv, Ukraine, late Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Servicemen of Ukraine's Khartia brigade pilot drones in a shelter on the frontline near Kharkiv, Ukraine, late Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Servicemen of Ukraine's Khartia brigade pack a Vampire drone with food and water to launch toward the frontline to Ukrainian positions near Kharkiv, Ukraine, late Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

A soldier of Ukraine's Khartia brigade, callsign Tolstiy, inspects a FPV drone in a drone repair workshop close to the front line in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)