2024 NBA Cup Betting Odds For In-Season Tournament: OKC Favored Heading Into Semifinals

The 2024 NBA Cup has come down to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Atlanta Hawks, with Oklahoma City currently the betting favorites to take the second-ever in-season tournament at +115 over at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Here's a look at how the four semifinalists currently stack up heading into their respective matchups at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, December 14.

2024 NBA Cup Betting Odds 

Odds as of December 12, 2024 at FanDuel

2024 NBA Cup Betting Favorite: Oklahoma City Thunder (+115)

A convincing 118-104 win over the Dallas Mavericks in quarterfinal action on Tuesday has set the Thunder up for a meeting with the Rockets on Saturday, whom they've split their two games with this season.

When taking the floor at the Paycom Center on Nov. 8, though, it was Oklahoma City emerging with a blowout 126-107 win, and oddsmakers are leaning towards the home side this weekend listing the Thunder as 5.5-point favorites. The Thunder would likely be favored against either Milwaukee or Atlanta, as well, thus explaining the short odds.

2024 NBA Cup Darkhorse: Atlanta Hawks (+550)

The Hawks simply can't be denied any longer after taking an East Group C which housed the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics prior to upsetting the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in a comeback quarterfinals victory on Wednesday night.

To suggest they can't take the Cup would be foolish, even with formidable competition standing in front of them. Atlanta is currently the 3.5-point underdog on the road against Milwaukee, even though it just blew out the Bucks at Fiserv Forum by 15 points on Dec. 4. 

2024 NBA Cup Most Valuable Player Odds

Odds as of December 12, 2024 at FanDuel

2024 NBA Cup Most Valuable Player Favorite: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder (+110)

Since the Thunder own the best odds to win it all, it makes sense seeing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander atop the leaderboard for in-season tournament Most Valuable Player at +110.

Gilgeous-Alexander leads all remaining players by averaging 32.2 points on 53 percent shooting from the field in his five Cup appearances, adding 5.8 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 2.2 steals in 35 minutes per contest. 

How does the NBA In-Season Tournament work?

All 30 teams were split into six equal groups — three from the East and three from the West. 

Following four group games for each team, eight of the 30 teams advanced to the knockout rounds. The round-robin format now transitions over into a single-elimination tournament with the top seeds battling the lower "wild-card" teams. The knockout-round slate will begin with the quarterfinals played in team markets on Dec. 10 and 11, followed by the semifinals and finals played in Las Vegas on Dec. 14 and Dec. 17, respectively.

All 67 games across both stages of the in-season tournament will count toward the regular-season standings sans the championship game.

What is the prize for winning the NBA in-season tournament?

Players on the champion team will each receive $500,000; runners-up will get $200,000. The players on the two losing teams in the semifinals will each get $100,000, and the players on the four losing teams in the quarterfinals will each get $50,000.

The NBA will also name the Most Valuable Player of the competition and the All-Tournament Team. Selection will be based on the players’ performance in group play and the knockout rounds.