The first pieces of the Memphis Grizzlies’ 2026-27 NBA schedule are falling into place.
Memphis will play the Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers and New Orleans Pelicans
in West Group B of the 2026 Emirates NBA Cup. All 30 NBA teams were randomly drawn into groups based on their records from last season. This will be the fourth edition of the in-season tournament, which debuted in 2023.On paper, the Thunder and Timberwolves are the two toughest teams in the group. Oklahoma City has been the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed in each of the last three seasons, while Minnesota made a major offseason move by trading for star guard LaMelo Ball to pair with Anthony Edwards.
The Grizzlies will host the Thunder on Nov. 6
and finish group play against the Timberwolves on Nov. 27.
The Pelicans and Clippers are teams projected to finish closer to the Grizzlies in the Western Conference standings. Memphis will play New Orleans on the road and host the Clippers.
The Grizzlies do not have one of the NBA Cup’s 15 nationally televised games.
Full Grizzlies NBA Cup schedule
Nov. 6: vs. Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.
Nov. 13: at New Orleans, 7 p.m.
Nov. 25: vs. L.A. Clippers, 7 p.m.
Nov. 27: at Minnesota, 6:30 p.m.
Six group winners and one wild-card team from each conference will advance to the quarterfinals on Dec. 4-5. The semifinals will take place Dec. 8 or 9 in the respective team markets, and the championship will be played Dec. 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Winning at least three of the four group games will likely be necessary to advance, although tiebreakers could alter that equation.
Memphis has gone 5-7 in NBA Cup group play over the last three seasons. The Grizzlies went 3-1 last season but ultimately failed to win the group and missed the knockout round because of point-differential tiebreakers.
The NBA will announce the full 2026-27 schedule on Aug. 13.
Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com. Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: NBA releases Memphis Grizzlies' Emirates NBA Cup schedule
