Key 2020 NBA Offseason Dates, Deadlines

In a typical year, the NBA’s annual draft would have already taken place and the majority of the summer’s top free agents would have come off the board. However, 2020 is about as far from a typical year as we can imagine, which means the league’s usual offseason calendar has been upended.

We still don’t know exactly when the 2020/21 NBA season will start – or even whether the league will be able to safely finish the ’19/20 campaign – but the league has re-established new dates and deadlines for a number of offseason events.

With the help of information from ESPN’s Bobby Marks, here’s a breakdown of many of the NBA’s important dates and deadlines over the next few months:

August 3

  • Last day for early entrants to withdraw from the NBA draft and retain their NCAA eligibility (10:59pm CT).

August 15-16

  • Possible postseason play-in games take place.

August 17

  • NBA playoffs begin.
  • Deadline for early entrants to declare for the NBA draft (10:59pm CT).
    • Note: For more information on draft-related dates and deadlines, check out our full breakdown.

August 25

  • NBA draft lottery.

October 13

  • Latest possible end date for the 2020 NBA Finals.

November 8

  • Deadline for all early entrants (including international players) to withdraw from the NBA draft (4:00pm CT).

November 18

  • NBA draft day.

November 19

  • Last day for decisions on player, team and early termination options (4:00pm CT).
  • Last day for teams to make qualifying offers to players eligible for restricted free agency.

November 20

  • Last official day of the 2019/20 NBA league year.
  • Teams can begin negotiating contracts with free agents (5:00pm CT).

November 21

  • Official start of the 2020/21 NBA league year.
  • Moratorium period begins.
  • Restricted free agents can sign an offer sheet.
  • Teams can begin signing players to rookie scale contracts, minimum salary contracts, and two-way contracts.
  • Third- and fourth-year rookie scale options for 2021/22 can be exercised.

November 22

  • Moratorium period ends (11:00am CT)
  • Teams can begin officially signing players, extending players, and completing trades.
  • The two-day period for matching an RFA offer sheet signed during the moratorium begins.

December 1

  • Training camps open

December 9

  • Last day for teams to waive players and apply the stretch provision to their 2020/21 salaries.

December 21:

  • Last day for players eligible for rookie scale extensions to sign new contracts.
  • Last day for players eligible for super-max extensions to sign new contracts.
  • Last day for players eligible for veteran contract extensions to sign new contracts (unless they’re in a contract year).

As gaps in the NBA’s late-offseason calendar get filled in, we’ll update this page with the latest info.

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