With the 2025/26 NBA season underway, our calendar of important 2025 preseason dates and deadlines can be retired in favor of a list of the key in-season dates for the ’25/26 campaign.
Here’s a breakdown of the deadlines and events that will influence player movement for the next several months across the NBA:
October 25
- NBA G League draft.
October 27
- NBA G League training camps open.
October 31
- Deadline for teams to exercise rookie scale options for 2026/27.
- Emirates NBA Cup (in-season tournament) begins.
November 7
- NBA G League Tip-Off Tournament begins.
November 28
- Emirates NBA Cup group play concludes.
December 1
- Priority order for waiver claims is now based on 2025/26 record, rather than 2024/25 record. Teams with the worst records receive the highest waiver priority.
December 9-10
- Emirates NBA Cup quarterfinals.
December 13
- Emirates NBA Cup semifinals.
December 15
- Most offseason signees become eligible for inclusion in trades.
December 16
- Emirates NBA Cup final.
December 19-22
- NBA G League Winter Showcase and Tip-Off Tournament championship.
December 27
- NBA G League regular season begins.
January 5
- First day teams can sign players to 10-day contracts.
January 7
- Last day to waive non-guaranteed NBA contracts (including two-way contracts) before they become guaranteed for the rest of the season. Salaries officially guarantee on January 10 if players haven’t cleared waivers before that date.
January 15
- Most other offseason signees become eligible for inclusion in trades.
- Last day to apply for a disabled player exception.
February 1
- Former first-round picks who were stashed overseas may sign rookie scale NBA contracts for the 2026/27 season.
February 5
- Trade deadline (2:00 pm CT).
February 6
- The value of teams’ unused mid-level exceptions and bi-annual exceptions begins to prorate downward by 1/174th per day.
February 13-15
- All-Star weekend in Los Angeles (Intuit Dome).
February 28
- Last day for contract renegotiations.
March 1
- Last day a player can be waived by one team and remain eligible to appear in the postseason for another team.
- Last day for a restricted free agent to sign an offer sheet.
March 4
- Last day for a team to sign a player to a two-way contract.
March 10
- Last day for a team to use a disabled player exception.
March 28
- NBA G League regular season ends.
March 31
- NBA G League playoffs begin.
April 9
- Last day to waive a player on an expiring contract or a player with an option for 2026/27 (4:00 pm CT).
April 12
- Last day of the NBA regular season.
- Last day players can sign contracts for 2025/26.
- Last day two-way contracts can be converted to standard NBA contracts.
- Luxury tax penalties calculated based on payroll as of this day.
April 13
- Playoff rosters set (2:00 pm CT).
April 14-17
- NBA play-in tournament.
April 18
- NBA playoffs begin.
There are currently six teams ineligible to sign a free agent to fill the 15th spot on their roster due to their proximity to a hard cap. These are the dates when those clubs will have enough breathing room below their respective hard caps to add a 15th man:
- November 11: Golden State Warriors
- January 7: Los Angeles Clippers
- January 8: Houston Rockets
- January 9: Orlando Magic
- January 18: Los Angeles Lakers
- April 2: New York Knicks
These dates are accurate as of October 24 (this story’s date of publication), but are subject to change if these clubs make in-season roster moves that increase or decrease their respective team salaries.
Information from NBA.com was used in the creation of this post.
when is the deadline for players to submit their fake injuries to the nba?
and what is the deadline for players/coaches to submit all their bets with their bookies?