NEW YORK (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers’ defense of the NBA Cup title will begin on Nov. 15 in San Antonio against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, and Klay Thompson will be back at Golden State — as a visitor with Dallas — on Nov. 12.
The NBA released the schedule of the group play games on Tuesday, with those contests getting played on a series of Tuesdays and Fridays starting Nov. 12 and ending Dec. 3. Each team was assigned to a five-team group and plays the other four clubs in that group once.
LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers went 7-0 in the tournament last season — when it was simply called the In-Season Tournament — and beat the Indiana Pacers in the final in Las Vegas. The semifinals and finals return to Las Vegas this year, with the semis on Dec. 14 and the title game on Dec. 17.
The NBA Cup will provide some obvious storylines. Among them: Thompson going back to Golden State, where he helped the Warriors win four titles, after joining the Mavericks this summer. And then the Lakers open defense of the Cup title, it'll be a game where James and Davis face Wembanyama again after helping the U.S. beat France in the gold-medal game at the Paris Olympics.
Almost all of the games for the 2024-25 NBA season will be released Thursday. All games in the NBA Cup will count in the regular-season standings except for the title game in Las Vegas; that would be an 83rd game for both of those teams, which doesn’t fit into an 82-game season.
Teams will get schedules Thursday with 80 games on them. Every team will play two more, either in the playoffs of the NBA Cup or in games scheduled between teams that did not make the tournament quarterfinals. And those teams that lose in the quarterfinals will meet for what essentially becomes the 82nd game on their schedule for the coming season.
There will be 60 group-stage games in all — eight games on Nov. 12, then 12 on Nov. 15, six on Nov. 19, eight on Nov. 22, five on Nov. 26, 10 on Nov. 29 and the final 11 on Dec. 3.
Each NBA team will play four designated group play games — one game against each opponent in its group, with two games at home and two games on the road. The four group winners will make the quarterfinals, along with one wild-card team from each conference. That wild-card club will be the best second-place team from each conference.
Nov. 12: New York at Philadelphia; Charlotte at Orlando.
Nov. 15: Brooklyn at New York; Philadelphia at Orlando.
Nov. 19: Charlotte at Brooklyn.
Nov. 22: Brooklyn at Philadelphia.
Nov. 29: New York at Charlotte; Orlando at Brooklyn.
Dec. 3: Philadelphia at Charlotte; Orlando at New York.
Nov. 12: Miami at Detroit; Toronto at Milwaukee.
Nov. 15: Miami at Indiana; Detroit at Toronto.
Nov. 22: Indiana at Milwaukee.
Nov. 26: Milwaukee at Miami.
Nov. 29: Toronto at Miami; Detroit at Indiana.
Dec. 3: Milwaukee at Detroit; Indiana at Toronto.
Nov. 12: Atlanta at Boston.
Nov. 15: Chicago at Cleveland; Washington at Atlanta.
Nov. 19: Cleveland at Boston.
Nov. 22: Atlanta at Chicago; Boston at Washington.
Nov. 26: Chicago at Washington.
Nov. 29: Boston at Chicago; Cleveland at Atlanta.
Dec. 3: Washington at Cleveland.
Nov. 12: Minnesota at Portland.
Nov. 15: Minnesota at Sacramento; L.A. Clippers at Houston.
Nov. 22: Sacramento at L.A. Clippers; Portland at Houston.
Nov. 26: Houston at Minnesota.
Nov. 29: L.A. Clippers at Minnesota; Sacramento at Portland.
Dec. 3: Houston at Sacramento; Portland at L.A. Clippers.
Nov. 12: Phoenix at Utah.
Nov. 15: L.A. Lakers at San Antonio; Phoenix at Oklahoma City.
Nov. 19: Oklahoma City at San Antonio; Utah at L.A. Lakers.
Nov. 26: L.A. Lakers at Phoenix; San Antonio at Utah.
Nov. 29: Oklahoma City at L.A. Lakers.
Dec. 3: Utah at Oklahoma City; San Antonio at Phoenix.
Nov. 12: Dallas at Golden State.
Nov. 15: Denver at New Orleans; Memphis at Golden State.
Nov. 19: Denver at Memphis; New Orleans at Dallas.
Nov. 22: Dallas at Denver; Golden State at New Orleans.
Nov. 29: New Orleans at Memphis.
Dec. 3: Memphis at Dallas; Golden State at Denver.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
United States' Coco Gauff and Lebron James travel along the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis,Pool)
LeBron James wearing his gold medal is seen during a women's gold medal basketball game at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilians began voting in the first round of local elections on Sunday for mayors, deputy mayors and councilors in the country’s 5,569 municipalities.
In Sao Paulo, three mayoral candidates are running neck-and-neck, including incumbent Ricardo Nunes, left-wing lawmaker Guilherme Boulos and self-help guru turned far-right politician Pablo Marçal. A runoff is scheduled for Oct. 27.
Much of the attention leading up to Sunday’s vote has been on Brazil ’s biggest city, where the race has been marred by episodes of violence involving Marçal.
Last month, José Luiz Datena, a former TV presenter turned candidate, slammed Marçal with a metal chair during a televised debate following references to allegations of sexual misconduct. In a later debate, an aide to Marçal thumped an adversary’s counterpart, resulting in a bloody face.
Marçal sparked more controversy on Friday, when he published on social media a falsified medical report indicating cocaine use by Boulos. The document was widely debunked by local media that pointed to inconsistencies including the fact that it was signed by a doctor who had passed away.
Boulos, a longtime campaigner for housing rights who is backed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, vehemently denied the veracity of the document. On Saturday, a judge sitting on Sao Paulo’s electoral court ordered the suspension of Marçal’s Instagram account for 48 hours and deemed that there are “indications of various offenses under the Electoral Code.”
Some of former President Jair Bolsonaro ’s political base has been drawn to Marçal, enthralled by his fiery rhetoric, although the far-right leader is supporting Nunes.
In Rio de Janeiro, incumbent Eduardo Paes is hoping to avoid a second-round runoff. Polls indicated until recently that was possible. But his principal challenger Alexandre Ramagem has steadily climbed in the polls in recent weeks, rendering the outcome of Sunday’s vote uncertain.
Ramagem, the former chief of Brazil’s intelligence agency under Bolsonaro, is being investigated as part of a wider probe into alleged spying on political opponents. He has denied the accusations.
Bolsonaro is backing Ramagem, and his ascent in the polls is widely attributed to the former president's campaigning on his behalf.
More than 155 million Brazilians are eligible to vote. Forty-three percent of the electorate is in the southeastern region, where Rio and Sao Paulo are located. Women make up around 52% of voters.
Nearly 1,000 transgender politicians are running Sunday in every one of Brazil’s 26 states, according to the nation’s electoral court, which is tracking them for the first time. The number of candidacies has tripled since the last local elections four years ago, when trans rights group Antra mapped them.
Polls opened at 8 a.m. Brasilia time and close at 5 p.m. (2000 GMT).
A second round will be held in municipalities with more than 200,000 registered voters, if none of the candidates for mayor obtain an absolute majority.
Mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party, center, campaigns with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, right, and his running mate Marta Suplicy, left, the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party, center, campaigns with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, right, and his running mate Marta Suplicy, left, the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party, center, gestures to supporters as he campaigns with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, right, and his running mate Marta Suplicy, left, the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party campaigns the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, left, campaigns with mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party campaigns the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party, right, campaigns with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, left, campaigns with mayoral candidate Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party the day before elections in Sao Paulo, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)