How the NBA Season Works: 82 Games, the Emirates NBA Cup and the Play-In

An NBA season has three layers: an 82-game regular season, a mid-season Cup competition whose results decide each team's final two games, and a Play-In Tournament that awards the last playoff spots in each conference. Most confusion about the format comes from not separating the three.

Layer 1: The 82-game regular season

Each of the 30 teams plays 82 games between October and April — more games than any other major North American league. The volume is the point: it is what makes a single February game matter less than a single playoff game, and it is why seeding in April is earned across six months rather than a short tournament.

The 2026-27 season has one structural quirk: only 80 of each team's 82 games have fixed dates and opponents. The last two are filled in based on Emirates NBA Cup results, played between December 4 and 10.

Layer 2: The Cup, and why it changes the schedule

The Emirates NBA Cup is a single-elimination tournament woven into the regular season. Group Play consists of 60 games on designated Cup Nights from October 30 to November 27. The knockout rounds — quarterfinals December 4–5, semifinals December 8 and/or 9, final December 11 — produce one champion.

Here is the mechanism that trips people up. Cup games count in the regular-season standings. Teams that do not reach the knockout rounds play extra games against other eliminated teams to keep the total at 82. Those two games — the ones with no predetermined opponent — are the reason the full schedule cannot be published as a complete fixed list.

The 2026 final is at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, which is worth a sentence of its own: a 1928 college gymnasium hosting an NBA final is a deliberate contrast to the neutral-site arenas the Cup has used before.

Layer 3: The Play-In Tournament

After the regular season ends on April 11, 2027, the Play-In decides the seventh and eighth playoff seeds in each conference:

• The 7th and 8th placed teams play; the winner takes the 7th seed.
• The 9th and 10th placed teams play; the loser is eliminated.
• The loser of the 7/8 game then plays the winner of the 9/10 game for the 8th seed.

The effect is that finishing 7th no longer guarantees a playoff place — and finishing 10th still leaves a path. It also keeps a wider band of teams playing meaningful basketball deep into April, which is exactly what it was designed to do.

How the three layers fit together

Read them as a funnel. The regular season measures durability over six months. The Cup measures a small sample under knockout pressure and directly alters the schedule. The Play-In converts the last regular-season rankings into playoff places. A team can win the Cup and still miss the playoffs; a team can finish tenth in April and still make the post-season. Each layer rewards something slightly different, and none of them cancels the others.

The Cup is the part of the structure with an obvious merchandise angle: an in-season trophy means a shirt bought in November is still in play in December. The Rajon Rondo Los Angeles Lakers Swingman Jersey ($67.70) and the Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls Hardwood Classics Swingman Jersey ($67.70) are the two most recognisable Swingman designs we carry.

Frequently asked questions

How many games does each NBA team play?

82. In 2026-27, 80 have fixed dates and opponents; the last two are set by NBA Cup results and played December 4–10.

Do NBA Cup games count in the standings?

Yes. Cup games are regular-season games. The tournament produces a separate champion, but the results count.

What is the NBA Play-In Tournament?

A short tournament after the regular season that awards the seventh and eighth playoff seeds in each conference.

When is the 2027 NBA Cup final?

December 11, 2026, at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.