With Group Play of the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup tipping off Oct. 31, we’re breaking down each group as they prepare for opening night, continuing with East Group A.

East Group A features the best team in the conference during the regular season (Cleveland at 64-18) and throughout the playoffs (Indiana came up one win shy of the championship, falling to OKC in seven games).

The group also includes one team that was unable to advance out of the SoFi Play-In Tournament (Atlanta went 0-2) as well as two lottery teams in Toronto and Washington.

The Hawks had the most successful run of any team in this group during last year’s NBA Cup, finishing Group Play at 3-1 to reach the Knockout Stage, where the Hawks defeated the Knicks in the quarterfinals before falling to the eventual Cup cha

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