The 2025-26 NBA season is nearly one-third of the way complete, having given us a ton of exciting basketball already.

The NBA Cup moved into the quarterfinal rounds with two games in the East Tuesday and two in the West on Wednesday.

The 19-1 Thunder are currently the favorites to win the 2025 NBA Cup (-125 at FanDuel ). The Bucks won the competition last year, and the Lakers won the initial version in 2023.

Being labeled the favorite is supposed to inspire confidence. But for some franchises, it’s often where things go wrong. Since the 2014–15 season, a handful of NBA teams have consistently struggled to take care of business in games they were expected to win.

The knockout rounds of the 2025 NBA Cup started on Tuesday, Dec. 9 when the Miami Heat faced the Orlando Magic in an East quarterfinal game.

"There's a little added juice to it knowing what's at stake. If you win, you move on and try to win something," one player said.

Toronto Raptors rookie Colin Murray-Boyles is off to a good start so far this season. Murray-Boyles has proven himself on both ends of the floor that he can ha

The San Antonio Spurs held off the Los Angeles Lakers Wednesday, Dec. 10 in a 132-119 victory in the final game of the NBA Cup quarterfinals. San Antonio had seven different players reach double figures in scoring, but guard Stephon Castle posted a 30-point double-double with 10 rebounds and 6 assists.