Emirates NBA Cup Brings A Slam Dunk To Las Vegas In December

The NBA is returning to Las Vegas in a few weeks with the Emirates NBA Cup Semifinals and Championship games. In addition to the games, there will be tons of basketball excitement in the form of interactive entertainment, games, live DJs and more. 

The Emirates NBA Cup brings added excitement to the season with teams from both the Eastern and Western Conference competing in the two win-or-go-home semifinal matchups on Saturday, Dec. 14, followed by the exciting championship game on Tuesday, Dec. 17.

The tournament kicked off with Group Play on Tuesday, Nov. 12 with a doubleheader on TNT - the New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers and the Golden State Warriors vs. Dallas Mavericks.

NBA fans will love all the basketball fun during the Emirates NBA Cup Semifinals and Championship coming to Vegas in December. In addition to the games, there will be fan activations, games, live DJs, interactive entertainment and more at Toshiba Plaza. 

"It is really our privilege to be able to bring the NBA Cup back and bring incredible competition. I think everyone saw firsthand last year that these were incredibly competitive games, something that was new for us in the beginning of the season, so fans can expect that for sure," NBA's Executive Vice President of Global Events, Kelly Flatow told The Blast exclusively.

"And in addition to everything that's happening on the court, you have to be there to see it live, we are really excited to bring back some of our fan engagement activations that will be live activations on Toshiba Plaza. We want as many of the fans to come see the games live."

For the die-hard fan, NBA Experience packages bring more action and excitement to the Vegas experience with exclusive access helicopter tours, VIP shootarounds, and a dinner on the Emirates NBA Cup Court featuring NBA Legends. 

"NBA Experiences, which is our experiential arm, is really taking it to a next level," Flatow continued.

"We're adding a dinner on the court this year so fans will have the opportunity to shoot some hoops, stand on the court itself, have dinner have a chalk talk with legends."

Something new for this year’s event is the inaugural NBA Tees & Threes Golf Tournament, taking place at the Wynn Golf Course on Monday, Dec. 16.

The event will pair celebrities, golf professionals, and NBA Legends with fans in an exclusive one-of-a-kind experience that’s available via NBA Experiences. Fans will have the option to play or watch golf-side. There will be entertainment, gourmet food and drinks, photo opportunities and immersive on-course activations. 

"We're introducing a celebrity golf tournament on Monday before the Championship game and that's called the NBA Tees & Threes," Flatow told The Blast. "So whether you come out and watch the golfers or are able to score a spot on one of the teams, you'll be able to play with some NBA icons and some pro golfers."

One unique feature during the Emirates NBA Cup games is the eye-catching court designs.

"We wanted to ensure that everyone watching and everyone who was in the arena had a cue that this was something really special. And a way to do that is to redesign the courts," Flatow told The Blast. "We knew that we wanted it to be really attention-grabbing. And we also wanted to pull in all of the unique characteristics of each team. So it was important that we had 30 distinct courts that all were very colorful, that if you were switching channels, you wouldn't be able to miss that the channel that you've landed on is the Emirates NBA Cup."

Last year for the inaugural year, the trial run at the unique court designs was a hit, so this year, they knew it had to return and evolve.

"This year, in its second iteration, we wanted to be sure that we continued that but made them even better," Flatow explained. "So we partnered with an artist by the name of Victor Solomon, and he worked with each team to come up with unique courts."

For anyone who missed out on last's years NBA Cup, Flatow explained how this works for the 30 NBA teams competing.

"So each of the teams is split into four groups. Then they will each play those opponents twice. They'll play four games, when you reach the cup standings, you're able to then get to the quarterfinal rounds which is a single elimination knockout, so every game is a game seven as we say," Flatow told The Blast.

"We'll then bring those eight teams to the quarterfinals. Those quarterfinals will be played in home arenas and then the four teams coming out of the quarterfinals will show up for the semifinals."

When asked what the best part about bringing the NBA Cub to Las Vegas is, Flatow said it's all about the "incredible competition" and "incredible destination."

"To have another championship to play for, to be able to bring these teams in the early part of the season to a neutral site, it is the best of NBA basketball in the early part of the season, and it's highly competitive," she explained. "For fans that travel in, what an incredible destination to come to Las Vegas and spend an entire weekend, one of the best event towns in the world with incredible entertainment options and culinary options and be able to see some of the best basketball."

For more information and tickets, visit the website.