Along with the new name for the Emirates NBA Cup this season, teams will also have new looks in their arenas for the tournament.
The NBA announced on Thursday, October 24, that all 30 teams will have new courts for the tournament this year. Twenty-five of the courts were leaked via the NBA 2K25 video game in September, but there were still a few surprises in Thursday’s announcement.
All of the courts follow the same general motif, with a graphic of the NBA Cup trophy at center court with a team logo overtop. Tonal concentric circles radiate out from center court, representing the three stages of tournament play: the group stage; the quarterfinals; and the semifinals and finals in Las Vegas.
Underneath the circles is what league officials call the “storytelling layer,” which contains a tonal pattern or graphic that’s linked to the team’s Statement Edition uniform. The NBA Cup also appears in each lane, and team wordmarks appear on the baselines. Team-specific mottos, graphics or other text also appears on the sideline nearest the television cameras on most courts.
“We didn’t want it to be too noisy or too overpowering, sort of learning some lessons from what was working and what wasn’t working last year,” designer Victor Solomon told CBS Sports, “so we landed on this very simple, but very sort of gestural concentric circle concept, where we took each team’s core colors and then had these three stacked, gradient steps along the way.”
Let’s take a trip around the Association, starting with the five teams whose courts were not leaked back in September (all graphics courtesy NBA / Facebook):
CHICAGO BULLS
The Bulls’ NBA Cup court features a red playing surface with a line art version of their bull’s-head logo covering the entire court. The out-of-bounds area is black, with red “CHICAGO” wordmarks on the baselines and the slogan “SEE RED” on the near sideline.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
The Cavaliers’ NBA Cup court design features tonal basket-Vs from their jersey wordmark at either end of the wine-colored playing surface, which curve nicely around the innermost concentric circle. The out-of-bounds area is black, with gold wordmarks all the way around: “CLEVELAND” on the left baseline, “CAVALIERS” on the right baseline and “LET EM KNOW.” on the near sideline.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS
The Bucks’ court features the antlers from the deer in their primary logo at either end of the blue playing surface. The out-of-bounds area surrounding it is black, with cream “MILWAUKEE” wordmarks on the baselines. The sideline has cream, green and blue stripes running into a “FEAR the DEER” wordmark.
NEW YORK KNICKS
New York City’s iconic skyline appears on the orange playing surface of the Knicks’ NBA Cup court. The out-of-bounds area surrounding it is blue, with “NEW YORK KNICKS” written in a white block font on the baselines.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
The Sixers’ court is mainly blue, with an alternate logo with a red “7”, a white “6” and a white ring of stars at center court. That ring of stars appears again as the large tonal pattern on the court. The out-of-bounds area is navy blue, and script “Philadelphia” wordmarks are on the baselines.
ATLANTA HAWKS
The Hawks’ NBA Cup court features black surrounding the court and red “HAWKS” wordmarks on the baselines. The entire yellow court is covered with a tonal “ATL” wordmark, and the motto “TRUE TO ATLANTA” appears on the sideline.
BOSTON CELTICS
The Celtics’ court features their signature parquet pattern writ large over the entirety of their green court. A black arched “CELTICS” wordmark sits at center court, while legendary coach Red Auerbach’s signature appears near the sideline, above a number 6 in memory of Bill Russell.
BROOKLYN NETS
Like the Celtics, the Nets’ usual herringbone flooring pattern is blown up to cover their grey NBA Cup court. Subway-inspired wordmarks sit on the baselines, and subway tiles run along the near sideline.
CHARLOTTE HORNETS
The Hornets’ NBA Cup court features a tonal honeycomb pattern all over the teal playing surface. “HORNETS” wordmarks sit on the baselines, while the near sideline proclaims, “THE HIVE IS ALIVE”.
DALLAS MAVERICKS
The Mavericks are showing their civic pride on their NBA Cup court, as they’ve opted for a Dallas skyline as the graphic. “DALLAS” wordmarks appear on the baselines, while the sideline features a “MAVERICKS” wordmark with “DALLAS” spelled out in between the letters.
DENVER NUGGETS
The Nuggets have gone out of the box a bit with their court, using red in the area surrounding the court and their alternate logo with two crossed pickaxes and a basketball at center court. “MILE HIGH CITY” is writ large tonally across the entire court, and sidelines features “ELEVATION 5280” with yellow stars on either side.
DETROIT PISTONS
The Pistons’ court is mostly blue, with tonal wordmarks and secondary logos covering the floor. A black basketball with “DET” inside sits at center court. The out-of-bounds area is black, and the near sideline features red and blue stripes along with the motto “IN IT FOR MY CITY.”
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
The Warriors are emphasizing their new basket-W secondary logo on their NBA Cup court, placing it front and center on the grey floor. It also appears as the tonal graphic among the concentric circles.
HOUSTON ROCKETS
The Rockets are kicking things into overdrive on their court, with red streaks radiating out from center court to give the impression of travelling through space at high speed.
INDIANA PACERS
The Pacers are borrowing a phrase from a broadcasting legend for their NBA Cup court. The blue court has the words “BOOM BABY!” as a tonal graphic, which was the catchphrase of late radio color commentator Bobby “Slick” Leonard after the Pacers made a three-pointer.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
The Clippers are keeping it relatively simple with their NBA Cup court in the first season of a rebrand. The blue court has red out-of-bounds areas and a tonal script “Clippers” wordmark running diagonally across the court.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
The Lakers rep their city on their NBA Cup court, with a tonal Los Angeles skyline covering the yellow floor. The out-of-bounds area is purple, with 17 gold stars on the near sideline representing the team’s 17 NBA championships.
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
The Grizzlies have gone grey with their court, with the “MEM” pattern that has adorned their jersey trim in recent years blown up to cover the entire floor. That same pattern repeats along the near sideline in navy blue, contrasting with the light blue out-of-bounds area.
MIAMI HEAT
The Heat’s yellow court is covered with a tonal flame graphic lifted from their logo, which also appears at center court. Black “HEAT” wordmarks appear along the baselines, but don’t much contrast with the red out-of-bounds area.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
The Timberwolves are cranking up the brightness on their NBA Cup court, bringing their neon green accent color to the forefront. The tonal pattern on the floor includes trees near the sidelines, diagonal lines and a “TIMBERWOLVES” wordmark running under their logo at center court.
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
The Pelicans are going relatively no-nonsense with their NBA Cup court design. The out-of-bounds area is red while the playing surface is blue with a blown-up version of their pelican logo covering the court. Their “CRESCENT CITY BASKETBALL” alternate logo appears on the near sideline.
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
It’s blue on blue for the Thunder’s court, with the navy blue playing surface set against a royal blue out-of-bounds area. A blown-up line art version of the shield and ball from the Thunder’s logo appears on the court.
ORLANDO MAGIC
The Magic hope their opponents will see stars on their NBA Cup. The grey playing surface has a pattern of repeating, offset stars covering it, and its surrounded by a blue out-of-bounds area. The team’s logo featuring a streaking basketball with stars trailing sits at center court.
PHOENIX SUNS
It’s no surprise that the Suns’ court is orange, with purple out-of-bounds areas. Their arched “PHX” wordmark covers the court, and the gradient pattern from their Statement Edition jersey appears on the near sideline.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
The Trail Blazers pay tribute to the Rose City with their NBA Cup court. The dark grey playing surface is covered with a tonal pattern of roses, and a “CITY OF ROSES” wordmark sits on the near sideline.
SACRAMENTO KINGS
The Kings’ court is truly regal, with a line art version of their crown alternate logo radiating out from center court. Along the near sideline, the motto “SACRAMENTO PROUD” is written on top of a purple-and-black checkerboard pattern.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
The Spurs’ NBA Cup court uses a tonal version of their alternate logo with a spur and the state of Texas and covers the dark grey playing surface with it. The out-of-bounds area is a lighter shade of grey, and a black-and-grey southwestern-style pattern runs along the near sideline.
TORONTO RAPTORS
The Raptors are throwing it back to the 1990s with their NBA Cup court design. The purple playing surface features tonal jagged chalkstripes like those found on the team’s inaugural uniforms. The team’s current claw-ball logo appears at center court, though, and their “WE THE NORTH” slogan appears on the sideline.
UTAH JAZZ
As the Jazz slowly transition to a new brand over the next couple of seasons, they’ve kept their NBA Cup court fairly neutral. The grey playing surface has a tonal mountain graphic, and the team’s J-note logo at center court is white with a grey outline.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS
The Wizards are reaching into their past for inspiration for their NBA Cup court design. The red court has a tonal graphic of a hand reaching for a basketball going diagonally across the court — a graphic from their current alternate logo that was inspired by their past life as the Washington Bullets. “THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA” wordmarks sit on a grey background on the baselines.
Group play in the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup begins on November 12, and will run on Tuesdays and Fridays until early December. Quarterfinals will be held in team markets on December 10 and 11, while the semifinals and finals will be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on from December 14 to 17.
