Minnesota Timberwolves NBA Cup schedule, results & standings

Originally branded as simply "the in-season tournament," the NBA Cup was ushered in during the 2023-24 season as a way to attach extra stakes to early-season games in the association. Die-hard Minnesota Timberwolves fans are likely familiar with the tournament at this point, but let's review some of the basics.

The games played as part of the NBA Cup count as regular season games. They are four regular season contests played by each team in the league in November and December, all on Tuesdays and Fridays and all counting toward the tournament's standings. At the end of this "group play" stage, the winners from each group as well as a wild card team from each conference advance to the knockout round.

All eight teams that advance this far will travel to Las Vegas to square off in a single-elimination bracket, where a champion will eventually be crowned on December 17. As for the remaining 22 teams in the association, two more games will be added to each team's schedule and regular season play will continue as normal.

The introduction of the NBA Cup means that when schedules are released for each team in August of every year, only 80 games are put on the schedule so that two more can be added later: Either by way of that team making it to Vegas for the knockout round, or through getting one additional home and away game added following the conclusion of group play.

NBA Cup results: Tracking wins, losses and key matchups

The NBA's official website provides a helpful guide where fans can track the standings for the NBA Cup specifically. As of this writing, the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks are tied for the lead in East Group A, the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons both lead East Group B, and the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks lead East Group C. The Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors are currently leading West Groups A, B, and C respectively.

On Tuesday night, the Minnesota Timberwolves will be hosting the Houston Rockets with a big opportunity on their hands. With Houston currently leading West Group A, they will essentially be in the driver's seat to win the group should they come out of Target Center with a win. Minnesota can rectify their previous Cup loss to Portland by taking down the Rockets and putting themselves back in the top spot.

After Tuesday, the Timberwolves' final Cup game of group play will be this coming Friday against the LA Clippers at home. Win their next two, and the Trail Blazers would be the only team capable of beating out Minnesota for the top spot by way of a tie-breaker.

Rewards and incentives for winning NBA Cup

When things are all said and done, the NBA Cup champion will receive the official NBA Cup trophy, and the players on the winning team will be awarded prize money. The winning team's players will each receive $514,970 in total winnings. Additionally, players from the teams who made the knockout round but did not win the championship will wind up with their fair share of prize money as well.

The runners-up will each win $205,988, while the players on the losing semifinal teams will get $102,994, and the losing quarterfinal teams will earn $51,497. For some players, this money would not be considered a lot, but winning the NBA Cup could certainly be a game-changer for some of the lesser-paid end-of-the-bench players on several teams.