Do NBA Cup championship games count in fantasy?
No. The NBA Cup championship game is the only game in the tournament that is not a regular-season game, so its stats do not count on fantasy platforms. Group play, quarterfinal and semifinal games are all regular-season games, and they score in fantasy like any other night on the schedule.
Which NBA Cup games count
| Round | 2026 dates | Counts in fantasy? |
|---|---|---|
| Group play | Cup nights from October 30 to November 27 | Yes |
| Quarterfinals | December 4 and 5 | Yes |
| Semifinals | December 8 and 9 | Yes |
| Championship | December 11 | No |
Why the final doesn't count
Every team plays 82 regular-season games. The final is an extra game for the two teams in it, so the NBA keeps it out of regular-season records and player stats. Fantasy platforms score from those official stats. A player who scores 40 in the final gets you nothing.
The 2026 final
The 2026 final is Friday, December 11, at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. If you play in a daily league and one of your players is in it, start someone else that night.
Makeup games make the knockout weeks uneven
Teams that miss the knockout rounds don't sit out. The NBA fills the off-days around the knockout games with makeup regular-season games, and those count in fantasy like any other game. In past seasons, each of the 22 teams that missed the knockout rounds played two of these games, and the four quarterfinal losers played one more game against each other.
The result is uneven game counts. Some teams play more games than others during the knockout weeks, and the two finalists each play a game that scores nothing.
How to plan streamers around it
- Count games per team for each fantasy week from December 4 through December 11, using the published schedule.
- Don't count the final as a game for either finalist.
- Pick streamers from teams with makeup games, especially on nights with few other games.
- In weekly lineup leagues, players on teams with more counting games that week are worth more than usual.
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