Indiana Pacers 2024 NBA Cup group revealed — features Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat

The NBA announced the groups for the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup on Friday, and the Indiana Pacers are in Eastern Conference Group B.

Indiana was last year’s Eastern Conference representative during the then-named In-Season Tournament title game. They fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in Las Vegas after beating the Milwaukee Bucks in the semifinals to reach the championship duel.

This year, the Bucks and Pacers are in the same group, so they will face off much earlier in the process. The rest of the Pacers group is the Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, and Detroit Pistons.

“I’m looking forward to being back in Vegas next year,” Pacers center Myles Turner said. He was on the broadcast that revealed the groups.

Group C appears to be the easiest in the East. While perceived opponent quality matters during the NBA Cup, the Pacers didn’t care last year — they had multiple wins that were considered upsets, including over the Boston Celtics, Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Philadelphia 76ers.

The Pacers will host the Pistons and Heat during the Group Stage of the competition while hitting the road for their battles with the Bucks and Pistons.

Last year, Indiana was the darling of the NBA during the event. They went 4-0 in group play, and many of the games were tight finishes. In the playoff bracket, they beat the Celtics to head to Vegas before beating the Bucks. LA was too much to handle in the title game, but the Pacers proved they could hang with anyone in the league.

That made President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard believe in his team, and about one month after the In-Season Tournament, he traded for Pascal Siakam. The blue and gold are now more talented as a result, and they’ll hope to make another NBA Cup run this season.