As 2025 starts, the NBA is already two months into its season, here is a recap as we head into the rest of the year.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are currently the top team in the Eastern Conference and all of the NBA with 30 wins, four losses, and a winning streak of nine games. The Oklahoma City Thunders are currently the top team in the Western Conference and second-best in the NBA behind Cleveland with 29 wins, five losses, and a winning streak of 14 games.
The Cavaliers started the season off 15-0, tying the 1993-94 Houston Rockets and 1948-49 Washington Capitols for the second-best start in NBA history, behind the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors at 24-0. A team that Cleveland coincidentally defeated in the NBA Finals that season to win their first-ever NBA Title in franchise history.
The Oklahoma City Thunders were the top team in the NBA Western Conference last year, and are looking to become the Western Conference champions again this season. This year, Oklahoma City was the top Western Conference team to compete in the Emirates NBA Cup 2024, competing in the title game but falling short to the Milwaukee Bucks.
For those who don’t know, the Emirates NBA Cup, previously known as the NBA In-Season Tournament, is the league’s annual in-season competition providing players and teams to chase another championship. 15 years before it was introduced, NBA officials discussed the possibility of holding an in-season tournament. On Jul. 6, 2023, that possibility then came to reality, as the NBA announced the first ever NBA in-season tournament, which featured the Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Indiana Pacers to win the first-ever NBA Cup, with Lebron James winning MVP.
Not only does the winning team receive the trophy, but each player receives a cash prize, which has been $500,000 in both the 2023 and 2024 editions. On Feb. 2, 2024, the airline company Emirates announced a multi-year deal with the NBA including the naming rights of the NBA Cup, in which the in-season tournament has since been named the Emirates NBA Cup.
The tournament begins with Group Play, where all 30 teams are randomly drawn into groups of five within their conference based on win-loss records from the previous regular season. Each team plays four designated Group Play games, one game against each opponent in its group, with two games at home and two on the road.
Before the Group Play draw, each team is placed into a “pot” based on its record from the prior regular season. In each conference, one team from each pot was randomly selected into each of the three groups in that conference. Pot 1 had teams with the three best prior-season records in a conference, Pot 2 had the teams with the fourth through sixth-best prior-season records in a conference, and so forth through Pot 5.
This season, Western Conference Group A included the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets, and Portland Trail Blazers; West Group B included the Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, and San Antonio Spurs; and West Group C included the Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, Golden State Warriors, and Memphis Grizzlies.
Eastern Conference Group A included the New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, and Charlotte Hornets; East Group B included the Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, and Detroit Pistons; and East Group C included the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, and Washington Wizards.
Eight teams advance to the Knockout Rounds: The team with the best standing in Group Play games in each of the six groups and one “wild card” team from each conference. The wild card will be the team from each conference with the best record in Group Play games that finished second in its group.
The NBA Cup is always held at a neutral site and was held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, in its consecutive seasons. The Emirates NBA Cup began with group play on Tue, Nov. 12, and was every Tuesday and Friday, till Tue, Dec. 3. The Knicks finished first in East Group A undefeated at 4-0, with the Magic right behind at 3-1, the 76ers in third with a .500 2-2 record, the Nets in fourth at 1-3, then the Hornets at 0-4.
In East Group B, the Bucks took first going 4-0, the Pistons took second with 3-1, the Heat at 2-2, the Raptors at 1-3, then the Pacers at 4-0. East Group C was a very competitive group as the Hawks everso nudged first due to a near 117-116 victory against the Celtics, as both teams had records of 3-1, the Cavaliers barely got third ahead of the Bulls after defeating them 144-126 on Fri, Nov. 15, both teams finishing with a 2-2 record, and the Wizards finishing 0-4.
West Group A was another close group from the Thunder finishing first with a 3-1 record, the Clippers; Timberwolves; and Trail Blazers all tied 2-2, but Los Angeles finished second despite losing to Minnesota 93-92, with their 127-105 win on Portland who beat the Timberwolves 122-108, as Minnesota barely clasped third from their narrow victory against the Clippers, with the Trail Blazers barely falling to fourth, and then the Kings at 1-3.
West Group B had the Thunder barely claiming first after their 99-83 win on the Suns, both teams 3-1, and the 2-2 Lakers holding third over their group’s other 2-2 team the Spurs, as Los Angeles took the win against San Antonio 120-115, then the Jazz finishing at 0-4. The Warriors proclaimed first over the Mavericks after Golden State notched a close 120-117 battle against Dallas, both teams 3-1, the Nuggets in third at 2-2, and the Grizzlies barely claiming fourth on the Pelicans from Memphis getting a 120-109 win on New Orleans, both teams 1-3.
In the NBA Emirates Cup, after Group Play, the top four teams in each conference advance to the quarterfinals. In the Eastern Conference, the first-place East Group B Milwaukee Bucks proclaimed the #1 seed, with first-place East Group A New York Knicks taking #2, the first-place East Group C Atlanta Hawks getting #3, and the second-place East Group A Orlando Magic having #4.
The Western Conference had the first place West Group B Oklahoma City Thunder receiving #1, the first place West Group A Houston Rockets catching #2, the Golden State Warriors getting #3, and the second place Group C Dallas Mavericks reaching #4. The first quarterfinal games took place Tuesday, Dec. 10, with the #1 Bucks defeating the #4 Magic 114-109, in the Western Conference; then the #1 Thunder defeating the #4 Mavericks 118-104, in the Eastern Conference.
The day after, Wed, Dec. 11th, the #3 Hawks took victory on the #2 Knicks 108-100, in the Western Conference; then the #2 Rockets won a close one on the #3 Warriors by just one point 91-90. From there, the NBA Emirates Cup semifinals were set, with the Western Conference to feature Milwaukee’s battle against Atlanta, and the Eastern Conference to have Oklahoma City take on Houston. Both #1 teams held their thrones, as the Bucks won 110-102 against the Hawks, and the Thunder knocked off the Rockets 111-96. On Tuesday, Dec. 17, the NBA Cup Finals were set, with the #1 Eastern Conference Oklahoma City Thunders and the #1 Western Conference Milwaukee Bucks to compete for the NBA Cup.
The championship started close, as the Thunder barely had the first quarter 28-27, but the Bucks found themselves finishing the first half 51-50. As the second half came in, Milwaukee pulled away, beating Oklahoma City 26-14 in the third quarter and 20-17 in the fourth, ultimately winning the game and the NBA Cup. M8X NBA all-star, and 2021 NBA Finals MVP forward Giannis Antetokounmpo won NBA Cup Tournament MVP, as he was able to deliver a big triple-double of 26 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists in the championship, as the Milwaukee Bucks took the title.
NBA All-Star 2025 is set to take place in San Francisco, Calif. From Feb. 14-16, 2025, at Chase Center, home of the Golden State Warriors. So far, the NBA stats leaders are Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in points at 1062, Hawks guard Trae Young in assists at 393, Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama in blocks at 112, Hawks guard Dyson Daniels in steals at 98, Knicks center Karl Anthony-Towns in rebounds at 461, and guard Anthony Edwards in 3-pointers at 131.
In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics are currently the top team in the Atlantic Division with 26 wins and nine losses, the Cleveland Cavaliers are leading the Central Division with 30 wins and four losses, and the Orlando Magic are first in the Southeast Division with 21 wins and 15 losses. In the Western Conference, Oklahoma City has the lead in the Northwest Division with 29 wins and five losses, the Los Angeles Lakers are on top in the Pacific Division at 20 wins and 14 losses, and the Memphis Grizzlies have the Southwest Division with 23 wins and 12 losses.
