In the 2026 NBA Cup, finishing Group Play with the same record as another team does not mean the standings will be decided only by head-to-head results. The league rules establish a sequence of tiebreakers and place point differential immediately after head-to-head record. There is also a specific rule for games that go to overtime: for point differential purposes, that game counts as zero, and points scored in overtime are excluded from the total-points tiebreaker.
The official tiebreaker order
Each team plays four games in NBA Cup Group Play. If two or more teams finish tied within the same group, the NBA applies the following criteria in this order:
- head-to-head record in Group Play;
- point differential in Group Play;
- total points scored in Group Play;
- record in the 2025-26 NBA regular season;
- random drawing if the tie still remains.
For each conference's wild card spot, the logic is nearly the same, but head-to-head record is not used. Candidates can come from different groups and may not have played one another during Group Play.
Why point differential matters
Point differential matters because the rules define it as the second tiebreaker, immediately after head-to-head record. In a four-game group stage, several teams can finish with identical records. If head-to-head results do not separate all tied teams, the difference between points scored and points allowed becomes the next ranking criterion.
In practice, this gives the margin of every Group Play game standings value. A 15-point win helps the differential more than a 2-point win, while a heavy loss hurts it. That effect is different from a standard regular-season game, where the margin normally does not change the position of a team that has already secured the win.
How to calculate point differential
Outside overtime games, the calculation is straightforward: add the points a team scores in its Group Play games and subtract the points it allows. The accumulated result is the point differential used for the tiebreaker.
| Fictional team | Record | Record among tied teams | Point differential | Tiebreak reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Team | 2-2 | 1-1 | +18 | Ranks ahead on differential |
| Gold Team | 2-2 | 1-1 | +7 | Ranks behind Blue |
| Gray Team | 2-2 | 1-1 | -3 | Ranks behind both |
In this example, all three teams have the same overall record and each goes 1-1 in games against the other tied teams. Because head-to-head results do not break the tie, point differential separates the teams. Blue Team moves ahead at +18.
What happens when a game goes to overtime
The NBA gives overtime games special treatment for scoring-based tiebreakers. If a game goes to overtime, the point differential from that game is considered zero for both teams. In addition, points scored in overtime are excluded from the total points scored tiebreaker.
| Fictional situation | Score after regulation | Final score | Result for record | Differential used in tiebreaker | Points scored used in total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Team wins in overtime | 104-104 | 116-112 | Win | 0 | 104 |
| Gold Team loses in overtime | 110-110 | 118-121 | Loss | 0 | 110 |
The winner still receives a normal win in its NBA Cup record. What changes is only how that game feeds the scoring-based tiebreakers. A four-point overtime win does not add +4 to the winner's differential, and a three-point overtime loss does not add -3 to the loser's differential.
Why the final score alone can be misleading
In games decided in overtime, the final score includes points that do not count toward the two scoring-based tiebreakers. Anyone calculating standings only from final scores can therefore produce an incorrect point differential and total-points figure.
The correct process is to identify which games went to overtime first. For those games, record zero as the differential. For the total points scored criterion, use only the points reached at the end of regulation.
How to follow a three-team tie
- compare the Group Play records first;
- check head-to-head results among the tied teams;
- if head-to-head does not resolve the tie, calculate the accumulated point differential;
- treat every overtime game as zero point differential;
- if point differential is also tied, compare total points scored while excluding overtime points;
- if the tie remains, move to the 2025-26 regular-season record and finally to a random drawing.
What applies to the 2026 NBA Cup
In 2026, all 30 teams participate in Group Play, divided into groups of five within each conference. Each team plays four games. The six group winners and one wild card from each conference advance to the knockout rounds. Group Play begins on October 30 and runs through November 27.
The tiebreaker rules and the special overtime treatment are described in the official Emirates NBA Cup 101 guide and the official NBA Cup FAQ.
