The Atlanta Hawks won't have to wait long for their first reunion with Trae Young.
Young and the Washington Wizards come to State Farm Arena on Friday, Nov. 6. The game starts at 7 p.m. ET.
The NBA released the 2026 Emirates NBA Cup group play schedule on Wednesday. The Hawks landed in East Group C with Washington, the Boston Celtics, the Chicago Bulls, and the Charlotte Hornets.
All four of Atlanta's group games will be played on Fridays.
After facing Washington, the Hawks travel to Chicago on Nov. 13 for an 8 p.m. ET game. Charlotte visits State Farm Arena on Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. Atlanta finishes group play at Boston on Nov. 27 at 8 p.m.
The Hawks will play two games at home and two on the road.
Atlanta was not selected for a national television window during group play. Boston's Nov. 24 game at Washington is the only East Group C matchup scheduled nationally. NBC will carry the game at 8 p.m. ET with a Peacock simulcast.
The Nov. 6 opener brings Young back to State Farm Arena after Atlanta traded him to Washington on Jan. 7.
CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert went back to Atlanta in the trade.
Young stayed in Washington after declining his $48.97 million player option. He agreed to a four-year deal worth about $212 million.
McCollum came back on a one-year deal worth $21 million.
The Young reunion comes first. Getting out of the group will take care of itself over the other three games.
Winning the group guarantees a spot in the Knockout Rounds. One second-place team from each conference gets in as the wild card.
If two teams finish with the same record, point differential breaks the tie first. Total points scored is next. After that, the NBA goes to 2025-26 regular season record.
Points scored in overtime are left out of those first two tiebreakers.
The two teams in each conference with the best group play records host Quarterfinal games. The top team draws the wild card.
Quarterfinals are scheduled for Dec. 4 and Dec. 5. The Semifinals follow Dec. 8 and Dec. 9 at the higher seed's arena.
Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis will host the Championship on Dec. 11. Prime Video will stream the game.
Group play, the Quarterfinals, and the Semifinals count toward the regular season standings. The Championship does not.
Atlanta did not advance out of East Group A last season.
The Hawks lost at Washington on Nov. 25 before beating Cleveland 130-123 in their final group game three days later.
Their 2024 Cup run went much further. Atlanta finished 3-1 in group play and advanced to the Quarterfinals. The Hawks beat New York before losing to Milwaukee in the Semifinals in Las Vegas.
This year's group comes after a 46-36 season in which Atlanta won the Southeast Division and finished sixth in the Eastern Conference.
The Hawks lost to the Knicks in six games in the first round of the playoffs.
Atlanta led the NBA with a franchise-record 30.1 assists per game. Jalen Johnson averaged 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 7.9 assists in 72 games and made his first All-Star team.
Hawks coach Quin Snyder signed a multiyear extension in June. The roster around Johnson looks different entering 2026-27.
Atlanta selected Kingston Flemings eighth overall in the draft and also added Zuby Ejiofor and Henri Veesaar. Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins, Devin Carter, and Ryan Nembhard arrived in offseason trades. Zaccharie Risacher was sent to Dallas.
Jonathan Kuminga is still unsigned after Atlanta declined his team option.
The first Cup test comes Nov. 6. Young will be on the other side.
