Four games decide whether the Spurs get another shot at the Emirates NBA Cup title they came so close to last December. They play at Sacramento on Nov. 6, host Golden State on Nov. 13, travel to Portland on Nov. 25, and close Group Play at home against the Lakers on Nov. 27. Two home dates, two road dates, and three of the four show up on national TV. Here is the full breakdown, in every U.S. time zone, plus what those four results actually need to add up to.
The Full Schedule, in Your Time Zone
Eastern time dominates most schedule graphics, which is fine for half the country and useless for the other half. Below are all four Spurs games in Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific, cross-checked against the NBA’s official Group Play release. Anyone tracking another team on the same nights can cross-reference the complete 60-game Group Play schedule.
| Date | Opponent | H/A | ET | CT | MT | PT | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Nov. 6 | at Sacramento Kings | Away | 10:00p | 9:00p | 8:00p | 7:00p | DAZN (San Antonio) / League Pass |
| Fri., Nov. 13 | vs. Golden State Warriors | Home | 9:30p | 8:30p | 7:30p | 6:30p | Prime Video |
| Wed., Nov. 25 | at Portland Trail Blazers | Away | 10:00p | 9:00p | 8:00p | 7:00p | ESPN |
| Fri., Nov. 27 | vs. Los Angeles Lakers | Home | 9:30p | 8:30p | 7:30p | 6:30p | Prime Video |
U.S. clocks fall back on Sun., Nov. 1, two days after Cup play begins, so all four Spurs games above already reflect standard time. Arizona stays on Mountain Standard Time year-round, so its column works without adjustment.
Three Nights the Spurs Sit Out
Group Play runs across seven Cup Nights, and no team plays on all seven. The Spurs’ four dates land on Nov. 6, 13, 25 and 27, which means they’re off on three of the busiest nights on the calendar.
| Cup Night | What the Spurs are doing | What West Group C is doing |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 30 | Not scheduled | Lakers at Warriors, 10:00p ET on Prime Video |
| Fri., Nov. 20 | Not scheduled | Kings at Lakers, 10:00p ET on League Pass |
| Tue., Nov. 24 | Not scheduled | No Group C games this night |
One small benefit of the late start: by the time San Antonio takes the floor in Sacramento, the Lakers and Warriors will already have settled their own head-to-head, so the Spurs open with at least one Group C result already known.
Game by Game: What Changes Each Night
Nov. 6 — At Sacramento
10:00p ET / 9:00p CTDAZN / League Pass
The only Spurs Cup game without a national window. In the San Antonio market, non-national Spurs games stream on DAZN this season; everywhere else, it’s League Pass. Sacramento sat toward the bottom of the West last year, which makes this look like the easiest game on the slate — and that’s exactly why a big margin here is worth banking. If Group C ends in a tie, point differential can be the deciding number, and this is the game where padding it costs nothing.
Nov. 13 — Warriors Come to San Antonio
9:30p ET / 8:30p CTPrime Video
The Spurs’ first Cup home date puts Victor Wembanyama across from Steph Curry, per the NBA’s schedule release. It’s the second half of a Prime Video doubleheader that opens with Knicks-Pacers at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Nov. 25 — Thanksgiving Eve in Portland
10:00p ET / 9:00p CT / 7:00p PTESPN
The closing game of ESPN’s Thanksgiving Eve tripleheader, following Heat-76ers at 5:00 p.m. ET and Timberwolves-Thunder at 7:30 p.m. ET. Portland’s Ja Morant and Damian Lillard give the Spurs a different-looking backcourt to deal with than in recent seasons.
Worth flagging: the NBA’s own recap paragraph for this date describes it as a Spurs home game. Every official game listing and broadcast schedule shows the opposite — San Antonio is on the road. Plan travel logistics, not a home-court trip.
Nov. 27 — Group Play Closes Against the Lakers
9:30p ET / 8:30p CTPrime Video
A Black Friday doubleheader on Prime Video, opening with Heat-Knicks at 7:00 p.m. ET before Luka Dončić and the Lakers visit San Antonio. This is the last Group C result of the season, and it can still shuffle who finishes where.
Two Other Group C Games Land the Same Night
Every Spurs Cup date overlaps with another West Group C matchup, sometimes within minutes. That makes a second screen genuinely useful, not just a nice-to-have.
| Date | Spurs tip-off (ET) | Other Group C game (ET) |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 6 | 10:00p — at Kings | 10:00p — Trail Blazers at Lakers |
| Nov. 13 | 9:30p — vs. Warriors | 10:00p — Trail Blazers at Kings |
| Nov. 25 | 10:00p — at Trail Blazers | 10:00p — Kings at Warriors |
| Nov. 27 | 9:30p — vs. Lakers | 9:30p — Warriors at Trail Blazers |
Three of those four companion games sit on League Pass while the Spurs’ own game gets the bigger stage — Nov. 6 is the exception, where the Blazers-Lakers game takes the Prime Video slot instead. The full breakdown of who’s carrying what, including how League Pass blackout rules apply, is in the Emirates NBA Cup streaming guide.
What San Antonio Actually Needs From These Four Games
West Group C plays ten total games, which means exactly ten wins get handed out among five teams — an average of two apiece. Anything above that pace puts the Spurs ahead of the curve.
| If the Spurs finish… | Where that leaves them |
|---|---|
| 4-0 | Group winner, no tiebreaker needed — nobody else can also reach 4-0 once the Spurs have beaten them. |
| 3-1 | A strong finish, but another team can match it. Head-to-head comes first, then point differential. |
| 2-2 | Squarely in tiebreaker territory, and dependent on how the rest of the group finishes. |
| 1-3 or worse | Advancing becomes very unlikely. |
Second place doesn’t end San Antonio’s chances outright. One wild card goes to the West’s strongest runner-up, decided by overall Group Play record once every West group has finished. Because Group C carries the highest combined win total of any group this year, a Spurs loss this fall is more likely to come at the hands of a team that’s also fighting for that same wild card — which is exactly why the four results above carry extra weight beyond just San Antonio’s own record. The 2026 groups breakdown has the full strength comparison across all six groups.
Getting to Every Game Without Extra Subscriptions
Two of the four Spurs games — Nov. 13 and Nov. 27 — sit on Prime Video, which is also where every Knockout Round game will air if San Antonio advances. Nov. 25 needs ESPN, either through a cable package or the ESPN app. Nov. 6 is the odd one out: DAZN carries it in the San Antonio market, and League Pass covers it everywhere else. The Spurs have also said a portion of this season’s regional games will air free over the air through a local broadcast partner not yet named at publication, so it’s worth checking the team’s own schedule page close to Nov. 6 in case that game shifts there.
If the Spurs Get Past Group Play
Eight teams make the Knockout Rounds. Quarterfinals run Dec. 4-5, Semifinals Dec. 8-9, both hosted in NBA arenas, and the Championship is Friday, Dec. 11, at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Every Knockout Round game, all the way through the final, airs on Prime Video. There’s a financial incentive too — every player on a Knockout Round roster shares in a per-round prize pool, detailed in the prize money breakdown.
San Antonio’s Only Cup Final, So Far
The Spurs’ lone trip to a Cup championship ended in a 124-113 loss to the Knicks last December — a result New York repeated a few months later in the actual NBA Finals. That makes San Antonio one of the tournament’s more decorated non-champions rather than a newcomer to the stage. A full year-by-year list of winners, MVPs and All-Tournament picks is in the Emirates NBA Cup history guide.
A rematch with the Knicks this year is only possible in the Dec. 11 final itself — New York sits in East Group B, so the two teams can’t cross paths any earlier. New York’s own route through the bracket is mapped out in the Knicks 2026 Cup schedule, and the Lakers’ side of the Nov. 27 game closes out their own West Group C run in the Lakers 2026 Cup schedule.
Quick Answers
| First Spurs Cup game? | Nov. 6 at Sacramento, 10:00 p.m. ET / 9:00 p.m. CT, on DAZN (San Antonio market) or League Pass. |
| Home games? | Two — Nov. 13 vs. Golden State and Nov. 27 vs. the Lakers, both on Prime Video. |
| Home or away on Nov. 25? | Away, at Portland, despite one league recap paragraph implying otherwise. |
| Channel for Spurs-Lakers on Nov. 27? | Prime Video, 9:30 p.m. ET / 8:30 p.m. CT. |
| Why no game on Oct. 30? | The Spurs’ four Cup Nights are Nov. 6, 13, 25 and 27 — Oct. 30, Nov. 20 and Nov. 24 aren’t among them. |
| Can the Spurs face the Knicks again? | Only in the Dec. 11 Championship — they’re in different conferences’ groups until then. |
| Must the Spurs win the group to advance? | No. A strong second-place finish can still land the West’s wild card spot. |
Newer to the event overall? The Emirates NBA Cup FAQ covers the tournament’s naming, format and backstory from scratch. Every Group C score updates live on the homepage as it happens.
Dates, tip-off times and TV assignments match the NBA’s official Emirates NBA Cup schedule as of Sept. 29, 2026. The league can adjust times and broadcasts, so confirm close to game day.