Five teams from Basketball England’s top division, plus two from basketballscotland’s Scottish Basketball Championship (SBC), have accepted invitations to the tournament as 'wildcards' and will join the nine SLB franchises when the Cup commences in January.
The Motorpoint Arena Nottingham will host the inaugural final on 9 March 2025, marking a historic moment as the venue’s first major British basketball event.
The draw was made on Sunday with the NBL1 clubs all seeded at home and competition adopting a bracket format, meaning the 16 participating clubs and their fans can chart their course to the final at the end of March.
*NBL1 teams in bold
The first round, with ties to be played 13/14/15 December, and quarter-final stages of the Cup will be single-leg contests, with the semi-finals played over two legs. At this stage an aggregate score will be used to determine the winners, who will book their place in the Cup Final.
"We are thrilled to welcome seven great teams from both the NBL and SBC to the Cup line-up. Their inclusion not only adds a new level of excitement and intrigue to the competition but highlights the depth and talent across British basketball.
“We’re grateful to Basketball England and basketballscotland for their support in allowing their teams to compete in the competition and I’m excited to see how the Cup unfolds as we continue to elevate the sport together."
“It’s great to see five of our NBL Division One clubs getting the opportunity to test themselves against Super League Basketball teams. It’s a real positive that we can work in collaboration with SLB to facilitate these opportunities.
“There is a fantastic crop of talent in Division One this season and, following Ipswich’s recent success in the Women’s SLB Trophy, it will be exciting to see what the men’s teams representing Division One can do on the big stage when the Cup commences in January.”
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