NBA Cup tracker: Suns earn wild card, Thunder win West Group A
The Suns lost to the Thunder but had a high enough point differential in their West Group A NBA Cup games to earn a place in the quarterfinals.
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The Phoenix Suns lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in their final West Group A game of the 2025 NBA Cup on Friday but had the highest point differential to earn a wild card spot.
Accordingly, the Thunder won the group title and it will set up a rematch in the cup quarterfinals on Dec. 10.
The Thunder finished group play with a +75 point differential, while the Suns (+31) had the highest among non-group winners with the next-best record, as the Memphis Grizzlies also finished 3-1 but were +14 in their games.
Here’s a look at the final NBA Cup standings:
Where are the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Cup race?
West Group A
| Place | Team | Record | Games Back | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 4-0 | — | +75 |
| 2 | Phoenix Suns | 3-1 | 1 | +31 |
| 3 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 2-2 | 2 | +45 |
| 4 | Utah Jazz | 1-3 | 3 | -85 |
| 5 | Sacramento Kings | 0-4 | 4 | -66 |
Wild card spot
| Place | Team | Record | Games Back | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Phoenix Suns | 3-1 | 0 | +35 |
| 5 | Memphis Grizzlies | 3-1 | 0 | +26 |
| 6 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 2-2 | 1 | +45 |
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Comments
7 Comments
Playing OKC will be a good barometer of what we really are. My guess OKC wins easily but not blowout. I just hope we play good basketball.
I think it's similar to Europe's UEFA Cup or UEFA Champions League in which football clubs, both from the top first class divisions along with the humble top domestic clubs from around the continent compete for an in-season Championship...except the Emirates NBA Cup are composed of only the NBA teams themselves, the NBA Cup winners get US$ 500,000 in prize money per player and is also considered as a prestigious "2nd" Championship title
EBJM or one of my other esteemed members of this group-Can you explain to me like I'm a 10 year old, what is the point of these in season tourneys? Do the players get a couple bucks? Do they mean anything?