June 30, 2026
Bill Streicher/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Will the Sixers finally advance to the NBA Cup Knockout Rounds?
The Sixers will be part of Eastern Conference Group B for the 2026 NBA Cup, the league announced on Tuesday night, with a notably challenging collection of groupmates.
The other four teams in the Sixers' group – from which a maximum of two teams can advance to the eight-team single-elimination tournament called the Knockout Rounds – are the Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat and New York Knicks.
For three years, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse has championed the NBA Cup – as a veteran of many international coaching jobs, he is a fan of an in-season tournament – and for three years, his team has failed to make it out of Group Play.
That will be more challenging now than ever before, as the Sixers' group includes the conference's two finalists from the 2025-26 season, the Eastern Conference champions from a year ago and a Miami team which just agreed to a deal to acquire two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
In Group Play, the Sixers will host the Heat and Knicks, while their NBA Cup contests against the Cavaliers and Pacers will come on the road.
After deciding to move the NBA Cup Championship out of Las Vegas, the NBA announced on Tuesday afternoon that in 2026 the final contest of the tournament will take place at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
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