The fourth NBA Cup begins Friday, with all 30 teams split into six groups of five, AP and USA Today report. Each team plays one game against every team in its group, AP reports.

The six group winners go to the quarterfinals, AP reports. One wild-card team from each conference also gets a spot. The quarterfinals and semifinals are played at the home of the higher seed. The final is on December 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse, on the Butler University campus in Indianapolis. It is the first time the title game has moved out of Las Vegas, AP reports.

Every Cup game except the final counts in the regular season standings, AP reports. Each player on the winning team gets $604,985. Players on the runner-up get $241,994, the outlet reports.

The New York Knicks are the defending champions, the outlets report. They beat San Antonio in last season's Cup final and then beat the Spurs again in the NBA Finals, AP reports. The Knicks open Cup play at Philadelphia on Friday, a rematch of the teams' season opener on October 20, the NBA's schedule shows.

The Los Angeles Lakers won the first Cup, and Milwaukee won in 2024, AP reports. Teams play on specially painted courts used only for Cup games. Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads all players with 502 Cup points, the outlet reports.

No team with a 2-2 record in group play has ever reached the quarterfinals, AP reports. Of the 24 teams that made it in the first three years, 10 went 4-0 and 14 went 3-1.

What we know: The NBA Cup starts Friday, and the final is December 11 in Indianapolis.
What we don't: Which teams will win their groups.