Honestly, if you told a New York Knicks fan back in October that they’d be holding a trophy in Las Vegas by mid-December, they probably would have laughed you out of the building. But here we are. The 2025 Emirates NBA Cup—which we all still basically call the In-Season Tournament—wrapped up with a title game that felt more like a Game 7 in May than a random Tuesday night in December.
The whole nba in-season tournament standings bracket became a wild obsession for fans this year. It's weird how quickly we’ve all pivoted from "What is this thing?" to "If we win by 12, do we get the wild card?" The stakes are real. The money is real. And for the Knicks, the 124–113 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the championship game was their first taste of hardware since 1973.
The Road to Vegas: Group Stage Chaos
The group stage is where the math nerds really shine. You've got 30 teams split into six groups, and only eight get to survive. Every point matters. Seriously, we saw teams diving for loose balls while up by 20 points just to boost their point differential. It's kinda chaotic, but it makes those early-season games actually watchable.
In the East, the Toronto Raptors (Group A) and Orlando Magic (Group B) both went a perfect 4–0. The Knicks actually came out of Group C with a 3–1 record, edging out the Miami Heat for the top spot. It was close. Like, "checking the box score every five minutes" close. Miami ended up snagging the East wild card because they outscored everyone else who finished second.
Out West, the Oklahoma City Thunder looked like a juggernaut, going 5–0 (they played an extra game because of how the schedule shook out). The Los Angeles Lakers, who won the inaugural Cup, took Group B. But the real story was the San Antonio Spurs. Victor Wembanyama basically decided he wasn't losing in November, leading them to a 3–1 record to win Group C. The Phoenix Suns snuck in as the West wild card after a tiebreaker win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
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Breaking Down the Knockout Bracket
Once we hit the quarterfinals on December 9 and 10, the "Tournament Standings Bracket" turned into a high-stakes sprint. The games were played at home sites, and the atmosphere was electric.
Quarterfinal Results
In the East, the Magic handled the Heat 117–108 in a Florida showdown that was physical as hell. Meanwhile, the Knicks went up to Toronto and absolutely silenced Scotiabank Arena with a 117–101 win. Jalen Brunson was already starting his "MVP of the Cup" campaign there.
The West was even more lopsided in one spot and a nail-biter in the other. The Thunder absolutely demolished the Suns 138–89. It was a massacre. On the other side, the Spurs went into Los Angeles and knocked out LeBron and the Lakers 132–119. That was the moment people realized San Antonio was for real.
The Vegas Semifinals
The tournament moved to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for the Final Four. It’s a neutral site, but it felt like a Knicks home game with all the blue and orange in the stands.
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- Knicks 132, Magic 120: New York’s offense was clicking. They just had too many weapons for Orlando.
- Spurs 111, Thunder 109: This was the game of the tournament. Back and forth. Wemby vs. Chet. The Spurs pulled it out in the final seconds, setting up a New York vs. San Antonio final.
The Championship: New York’s Big Night
The 2025 NBA Cup Final on December 16 wasn't just about the $500,000 per player. It was about validation. The Knicks led 124–113 when the buzzer sounded. Jalen Brunson walked away with the MVP trophy after averaging over 33 points a game throughout the tournament. He's been the engine for that team, and seeing him hoist that trophy—even if it's not the Larry O'Brien—meant something to the city.
The Spurs shouldn't hang their heads, though. They proved they can win big games on a national stage. Wembanyama is a problem that the rest of the league still hasn't figured out.
Understanding the Format (If You’re Still Confused)
Look, the nba in-season tournament standings bracket can be a lot to track if you aren't a die-hard. Here is the basic gist of how the standings work and how teams actually qualify:
- The Draw: Teams are put into "pots" based on the previous year's record. This keeps the groups balanced so you don't end up with one "Group of Death."
- The Schedule: Each team plays four group games (two home, two away). These games also count toward the regular season 82-game standings.
- The Tiebreakers: This is the part everyone hates but secretly loves. If records are tied, it goes to:
- Head-to-head record.
- Point differential (this is why teams run up the score).
- Total points scored.
- Previous season's record.
- The 83rd Game: Only the two teams in the Championship game play an "extra" game. That 83rd game does not count toward regular-season standings, but the stats do count for the tournament awards.
Why This Matters for the Rest of the Season
A lot of people think the NBA Cup is just a gimmick. I used to be one of them. But then you see the intensity. You see the bench players celebrating like they just won a title because that $500,000 bonus is huge for guys on minimum contracts.
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It also gives us a preview of who can handle the pressure. The Knicks and Spurs weren't necessarily the favorites when this started in October, but they rose to the top. It builds a "winning culture" early in the year. Now, as we head into the second half of the season, the Knicks have a target on their back.
If you want to keep up with how this affects the playoff race, the most important thing to remember is that every game (except the final) helped these teams in the regular season standings. The Knicks didn't just win a trophy; they banked a bunch of wins that will help them secure home-court advantage come April.
To see where your team stands now that the tournament is over, check the official NBA standings page. Most major sports apps like ESPN or the NBA app have a dedicated "Cup" tab that archives the full nba in-season tournament standings bracket so you can see exactly where the wheels fell off for your squad. Keep an eye on the point differentials in late-season games too; the league is considering using that logic for more than just the Cup in the future.
Next Steps:
Go check the current Eastern and Western Conference standings to see how the tournament wins boosted the Knicks and Spurs into the top tier of their respective conferences. You can also look up the "All-Tournament Team" to see which breakout stars joined Jalen Brunson on the honors list this year.