2025 NBA Free Agency Primer

While teams have been permitted to negotiate with their own free agents since the day after the end of the NBA Finals, the league’s 2025 free agency period officially begins on Monday at 5:00 pm Central time. Several contract agreements have been reported during the last week or two, but that number will significantly increase beginning on Monday evening.

Here are several links to prepare you for one of the most eventful days on the NBA’s offseason calendar:

• Top 50 Free Agents Of 2025
  Our list has been updated to account for the latest option decisions and other roster moves, which means LeBron James – who opted in for 2025/26 and won’t be a free agent – is no longer our No. 1.
• 2025 Free Agents By Position/Type
  2025 Free Agents By Team
  Want the full breakdown of players available this summer? Take your pick from these two lists.
• 2025 Free Agent Tracker
  We’re keeping tabs on all the reported free agent agreements here.
  Note: Our more mobile-friendly tracker isn’t ready yet, so you’ll have to turn your phone sideways to see all the details here.
• Key Offseason Dates/Deadlines
  A breakdown of the important dates to watch beyond today.
• Maximum Salary Projections For 2025/26
  Minimum Salary Projections For 2025/26
  Mid-Level, Bi-Annual Exception Projections For 2025/26
  Our projections are based on a salary cap of $154,647,000 (ie. a 10% increase). We should find out in a matter of hours what the exact cap for 2025/26 will be.
• Player Option Decisions For 2025/26
  Team Option Decisions For 2025/26
  The deadline for these decisions was on Sunday, so they’re all in now.
• 2025 Qualifying Offer Recap
  We have the full list of which players are becoming restricted free agents.
• 2025 Offseason Trades
  Ten trades have already been officially completed so far this offseason, with 13 others agreed upon and many more to come.
• Outstanding Trade Exceptions
  A number of teams have traded player exceptions available to take on salary without sending any salary back.
• Players Eligible For Rookie Scale Extensions In 2025
  Several of these players will receive big paydays this offseason, keeping them off the 2026 free agent market.
• Early Salary Guarantee Dates For 2025
  Teams will have to decide whether to guarantee these salaries or waive these players before their respective deadlines.
• 2025 Offseason Preview Series
  We took a closer look at all 30 teams’ cap situations and key offseason decisions.
• Hoops Rumors Glossary
  Need a refresher on how sign-and-trades work, what it means to have “Early Bird rights” on a player, how a team becomes hard-capped, or what exactly it means to operate over a tax apron? We explain all in our glossary.