NBA Announces Details for Washington Wizards in 2026 NBA Cup

· Yahoo Sports

The first details of the 2026 regular season emerged on Tuesday evening after the NBA announced its six groups for the third annual NBA Cup sponsored by Emirates Airline.

Visit esporist.org for more information.

The Washington Wizards will suit up in East Group C alongside the Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets and Chicago Bulls.

Group play is set to kick off on Oct. 30 with dates in November set for the 6th, 13th, 20th, 24th, 25th and 27th. The quarterfinals are set for Dec. 4 through Dec. 5, semifinals are set for Dec. 8 and/or Dec. 9 with the championship game set for Dec. 11.

Washington will also enter the mid-season tournament looking to fare much better than the last two seasons given head coach Brian Keefe has guided his teams to a 1-11 record over the last two seasons. The lone win came during the 2025-26 regular season after the Wizards downed the Atlanta Hawks, 132-113, in a blowout win in Capital One Arena that, at the time, kept their hopes alive in the tournament.

Ironically, Washington did not face Trae Young that night as the current Wizards guard battled injuries throughout the 2025-26 season before ultimately appearing in just 15 games between the Hawks and Wizards. CJ McCollum, who signed a new deal with the Hawks after being traded to Atlanta in the deal that landed Young in Washington, led the way for the Wizards in the win after scoring 46 points on 17-of-25 shooting, including 10-of-13 from three. McCollum proved to be one of five Wizards who finished in double figures as Alex Sarr added 27 points and 11 rebounds while Corey Kispert, who joined McCollum in the midseason trade, added 19 points after knocking down half of his eight three-point attempts.

While Washington looks for the improved roster to be the spark to a possible deeper run, they will also do so with a slight change of plans after the NBA announced a change for the upcoming season.

The NBA announced that the championship game will be played at Hinkle Fieldhouse, home to the Butler Bulldogs, in Indianapolis, Indiana with the date already set. This marks the first year that the NBA has moved away from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas since the NBA Cup began in 2023, but reports noted that the league's contract with the arena was on an annual basis to leave the door open for an eventual move.

Wizards Roundtable also offers a fan community. We’d love to have you join us to talk all things Wizards. Create an account, click the “Join” button at the top of the page to join our free community and follow for all of our coverage, analysis and more!

Read full story at source