Key 2026 NBA Offseason Dates, Deadlines
With the 2025/26 NBA regular season in the books, nearly half of the league’s teams have shifted their focus to the offseason, and others will soon follow suit.
That means it’s time to retire our list of the NBA’s key in-season dates and deadlines for the ’25/26 campaign in favor of an updated offseason calendar of the most important dates facing teams and players in the coming months.
In the space below, you’ll find a breakdown of many of the NBA’s important dates and deadlines for the next few months, right up until training camps open for the 2026/27 season.
April 24
- Deadline for early entrants to declare for the NBA draft (10:59 pm CT).
- Note: For more information on draft-related dates and deadlines, check out our full breakdown.
May 8-10
- NBA G League combine.
May 10
- NBA draft lottery.
May 10-17
- NBA draft combine.
May 27
- Last day for early entrants to withdraw from the NBA draft and retain their NCAA eligibility (10:59 pm CT).
June 3
- NBA Finals begin.
June 13
- Deadline for all early entrants (including international players) to withdraw from the NBA draft (4:00 pm CT).
June 19
- Latest possible end date for NBA Finals.
TBD (first day after end of NBA Finals)
- Teams can begin negotiating with their own free agents.
June 23
- Day one of NBA draft (first round).
June 24
- Day two of NBA draft (second round).
June 29
- Last day for decisions on player, team, and early termination options
- Note: Certain contracts will require earlier decisions.
- Last day for teams to make qualifying offers to players eligible for restricted free agency.
June 30
- Last official day of the 2025/26 NBA league year.
- Last day for players eligible for veteran extensions in 2025/26 to sign them.
- Teams can begin negotiating with free agents from other clubs (5:00 pm CT).
July 1
- Official start of the 2026/27 NBA league year.
- Moratorium period begins.
- Restricted free agents can sign an offer sheet.
- Teams can begin signing players to one- or two-year minimum-salary contracts.
- Teams can begin signing players to two-way contracts.
- Teams can begin signing first-round picks to rookie scale contracts.
- Teams can begin signing second-round picks using the second-round pick exception.
- Teams can begin exercising the third- or fourth-year team options for 2027/28 on rookie scale contracts.
July 4-7
July 6
- Moratorium period ends (11:01 am CT).
- Teams can begin officially signing players, extending players, and completing trades (11:01 am CT).
- The 24-hour period for matching an RFA offer sheet signed during the moratorium begins (11:01 am CT).
July 9-19
- Las Vegas Summer League.
July 13
- Last day for teams to unilaterally withdraw qualifying offers to restricted free agents.
July 31
- Players signed using the second-round pick exception begin to count against a team’s cap.
August 5
- Last day for teams to issue required tenders to unsigned second-round picks.
August 29
- Last day for teams to waive players and apply the stretch provision to their 2026/27 salaries.
Late September (specific dates TBA)
- Training camps open.
Information from NBA.com was used in the creation of this post.
Draft Notes: Allen, Ngongba, Samodurov, Suigo, Dawes
Following his freshman year at Alabama, forward Amari Allen will test the NBA draft waters while maintaining his NCAA eligibility, he announced on Instagram.
Allen is viewed as a possible first-round pick — he currently ranks 29th on ESPN’s big board, while Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report had him all the way up at No. 18 in his post-NCAA tournament mock draft. The 6’8″ wing is said to have good positional size and versatility and is considered a solid passer and shooter. Although he made just 1-of-16 three-pointers during SEC and NCAA tournaments, he had made 37.7% of 4.4 tries per game in 28 regular season outings before that.
In 32 total games, including 24 starts, Allen averaged 11.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 28.2 minutes per contest, earning a spot on the All-SEC Freshman team.
Here are a few more draft-related notes:
- Duke’s Patrick Ngongba had been considered a possible first-round pick, but he’ll be returning to the Blue Devils for his junior season, according to the school (Twitter link). The big man emerged as Duke’s starting center in his sophomore year, averaging 10.1 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 2.0 APG in 32 games (21.9 MPG). ESPN’s Jeremy Woo previously noted that some evaluators believed Ngongba wasn’t ready for the NBA’s level of physicality and would benefit from another year in college.
- Alex Samodurov, a 21-year-old power forward who plays for the Greek team Panathinaikos, is declaring for the 2026 NBA draft, agent Alex Saratsis tells Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). According to Givony, Samodurov is also considering the possibility of coming stateside to enroll in a college program. He played a limited role for Panathinaikos in 2025/26, averaging just 6.2 minutes per game in 13 EuroLeague appearances.
- Italian center Luigi Suigo, the No. 41 prospect on ESPN’s board, is still weighing whether to enter the NBA draft or play college basketball, writes Dario Skerletic of Sportando. Illinois, Purdue, Indiana, St. John’s, Duke, and BYU are among the programs that have been linked to Suigo, who is currently playing for KK Mega Basket in Serbia, Skerletic adds.
[UPDATE: Suigo will test the draft waters while continuing to weigh his options, Givony reports (Twitter links). - Junior forward Keanu Dawes is testing the draft waters this spring, according to Givony (Twitter link). Dawes may end up returning to school for his senior year though. After spending the past two years playing for Utah, he entered the transfer portal and has signed with Kansas. In 32 starts last season for the Utes, the 6’9″ forward averaged 12.5 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and 2.2 APG in 30.8 MPG.
Suns Notes: Williams, Allen, Goodwin, Ott, Brooks
Suns center Mark Williams, who missed 15 games in March due to a third metatarsal stress reaction in his left foot, sat out last Friday’s play-in game vs. Golden State and Sunday’s Game 1 against Oklahoma City due to what the team called left foot soreness. According to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, Williams was wearing a walking boot at the Suns’ facility on Tuesday.
However, when head coach Jordan Ott was asked on Tuesday if Williams would be ruled out for the rest of the first-round series, he said the club is “just continuing to take it day-by-day,” per Rankin. And the Suns’ injury report doesn’t suggest they’re necessarily expecting a lengthy absence for the big man — he’s considered questionable to suit up on Wednesday for Game 2.
Still, it’s worth noting that Williams’ injury designation has been updated to “left foot third metatarsal stress reaction,” confirming that the soreness he’s experiencing is directly related to the issue that sidelined him last month.
We have more on the Suns, including a couple more injury updates:
- Suns wing Grayson Allen hasn’t played since April 10 due to a left hamstring strain, despite being listed as available for each of the team’s past two contests. He went through a full practice on Tuesday and is “definitely making progress,” according to Ott (via Rankin). Allen is considered questionable for Game 2, though even if his status is upgraded, it’s unclear whether he’ll actually see any action.
- Suns guard Jordan Goodwin, who missed seven straight games in left February and early March due to a left calf strain, is dealing with soreness in that same calf. As Rankin notes, he missed the second half of Sunday’s game and is listed as questionable to play on Wednesday. “(He) feels pretty good,” Ott said on Tuesday. “I don’t think it’s quite as bad as it was in February. We know it’s the playoffs. We always talk about all hands on deck. So we’ll take whoever we can get at this time of the year. Any minutes from any of those guys is impactful and helpful for our group. We’ll wait and see (Wednesday).”
- Ott was impressive during his first regular season as a head coach, but he faces a new challenge in these playoffs against the defending champions and the No. 1 seed in the West, writes Doug Haller of The Athletic. While Haller acknowledges that no one expects Ott’s Suns to beat Oklahoma City, he says it’s important the team is competitive over the course of the series.
- Suns forward Dillon Brooks – who earned praise from rival Draymond Green for the impact he has made in Phoenix this season, as Taylor Wirth of NBC Sports Bay Area details – says he’s determined to make Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander work harder on defense in Game 2, per Rankin. “You see a guy like that going hard on the offensive end all game and trying to get a rest on defense,” Brooks said. “I’ll find a way to make him use his legs, use his hands, use his mind on that defensive end, most of the time, he’s going to break down and then you can go out and make plays.”
Blazers’ Splitter ‘Just Trying To Be A Pro’ Amid Coaching Rumors
After taking over as the Trail Blazers‘ interim head coach following Chauncey Billups‘ arrest one game into the season, Tiago Splitter led the team to a 42-39 record, a play-in victory, and the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2021.
However, Splitter’s future in Portland beyond this season remains up in the air, with one recent report suggesting that new team owner Tom Dundon has held exploratory discussions with approximately 20 college and international coaches. Amid rumors that the Blazers are considering head coaching alternatives, Splitter said on Tuesday that he’s “just trying to be a pro,” according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
“(I) try to focus on my locker room and my staff to stay and think about basketball,” Splitter said. “Same way when I got the job and all the stuff (with Billups) that was going on.”
According to Shelburne, sources close to the situation say that Splitter received a raise when he was elevated from his assistant coaching job earlier in the season and had discussions with the team later in the season about a possible longer-term contract. However, the salary the Blazers were prepared to offer was “far below” a standard rate for an NBA head coach and the two sides decided to table those talks until after the season, Shelburne adds.
Dundon didn’t officially take over as the Blazers’ controlling owner until the end of March, but he reached an agreement to buy the team last August, so it’s safe to assume he would’ve been privy to those negotiations even if they happened before the sale closed.
Since Dundon formally assumed control of the team three-plus weeks ago, there have been several reports about the cost-cutting measures he has taken throughout the organization, as we detailed in a pair of stories earlier this week. Sources tell Shelburne that another one of those cost-cutting measures involved reducing the number of complimentary tickets to home playoff games for support staffers.
Reports that Dundon isn’t willing to pay more than $1.5MM annually for a head coach have received some push-back, with one source telling The Athletic this week that the Blazers owner is focused on finding the “best person” for the job. Still, as Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report tweets, it’s hard to envision what more Splitter could do to prove he deserves to stick around.
“He got thrown in a difficult situation,” Blazers star Deni Avdija said on Tuesday after Splitter guided the Blazers to a comeback victory in Game 2 to even the series at one game apiece as it returns to Portland. “It wasn’t easy for him to just all of a sudden take the head job. But I think he’s done phenomenal. He’s getting the best out of everybody. He’s believing in each and single one of his players, and we love playing for him. He’s a winner, he’s a competitor. He knows how it is to win a championship. He’s passionate, and he got all the tools to be a great coach, and that’s what he’s doing.”
Knicks Notes: Game 2 Collapse, Towns, Alvarado, Robinson, More
Karl-Anthony Towns was the Knicks‘ second-leading scorer in Game 2 of their first-round series against Atlanta, with 18 points, but he was essentially a non-factor during the fourth quarter of their 107-106 loss, Zach Braziller of the New York Post notes.
Towns attempted just two shots during those 12 minutes as the Knicks squandered a 12-point lead. He scored 25 points and dished out four assists in the Game 1 victory.
“The opportunity just didn’t come around shooting,” he said after Monday’s loss. “But at the end of the day, I trust everybody in this locker room to shoot the ball. The opportunities weren’t available for me in the fourth and it was fine.”
Jalen Brunson dominated the ball during much of that final quarter as New York scored just 15 points and shot 22.7% from the floor.
“We could’ve flowed better, for sure. We could’ve done that,” Towns said. “But at the end of the day, I have to watch the tape. When you’re so into the game, it’s hard to give a great assessment about it.”
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- Jose Alvarado was a bright spot in the loss, according to Braziller. The reserve guard provided three assists, two rebounds and pesky defense in his nine-minute stint. Mitchell Robinson‘s performance was also a positive, in Braziller’s view. The big man notched 13 points, seven rebounds, a steal and a block in 18 minutes.
- Lay the blame for the late collapse on coach Mike Brown, Brunson and OG Anunoby, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post opines. Brown mismanaged his timeouts, Brunson got lit up by CJ McCollum and Anunoby committed a crucial turnover and missed two late free throws.
- James Edwards III of The Athletic blames the loss largely on Brown, not only for the timeout issues but for his rotations. Brunson and Towns were both on the bench when the fourth quarter started and Atlanta made its run. Brown stood by that decision. “We’ve played that lineup quite a bit at the end of the season,” Brown said. “That lineup’s been pretty good. We weren’t good tonight and we turned the ball over a few too many times during that period. But we had opportunities where our starters were in, and we were up eight to 10 [points] and Atlanta closed it. So I wouldn’t just say that specific lineup caused it.”
Wembanyama Exits Game 2 After Suffering Concussion
9:54pm: Wembanyama has a concussion and will undergo further testing on Wednesday, Charania tweets. Wembanyama must now have at least 48 hours of inactivity and recovery, then hit several benchmarks while being symptom-free before he is cleared to play.
8:18pm: Spurs star center Victor Wembanyama was ruled out for the remainder of Game 2 of his team’s game against the Trail Blazers on Tuesday after he entered concussion protocol. The team made the announcement during the second quarter, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.
Wembanyama was injured when he stumbled while driving toward the basket and banged his chin against the floor (Twitter video link).
The big man had five points, four rebounds, a block and an assist in 12 minutes before suffering the injury. He collected his Defensive Player of the Year award prior to the game but the mood among the team and home crowd changed dramatically after Wembanyama fell in the lane and headed to the locker room.
With Wembanyama now in concussion protocol, the No. 2 seeded Spurs suddenly look much more vulnerable. They won Game 1 111-98 behind his 36-point eruption.
Wembanyama will have to meet certain benchmarks and exhibit that he’s symptom-free before clearing the concussion protocol. Until he can return, Luke Kornet will play a more prominent role and another veteran big man, Kelly Olynyk, could also see his minutes spike.
Kevin Durant Cleared To Play Game 2
Kevin Durant will play in Game 2 of the Rockets’ series against the Lakers on Tuesday night, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.
Houston’s star forward missed Game 1 due to a knee tendon bruise after suffering the injury in practice last week. Rockets coach Ime Udoka said during his pregame press conference that Durant, who tested out the knee during pregame warmups, wouldn’t be on a minutes restriction if he plays.
“The pain tolerance is one thing, but actually moving and feeling comfortable doing all the movements is going to be the biggest thing,” Udoka said after the team’s practice this week.
The Lakers, who are operating without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, collected a 107-98 Game 1 victory as the Rockets struggled offensively without Durant. The 16-time All-Star averaged 26.0 points per game this season in 78 outings this season and has averaged 29.3 PPG in 170 career playoff contests.
He’ll match up against LeBron James for the first time since the 2018 NBA Finals, when Durant played for Golden State and James led Cleveland.
Central Notes: Duren, Rivers, Donovan, Bulls
Jalen Duren has carefully studied the replay of the Pistons’ Game 1 loss to No. 8 seed Orlando. Duren has taken heavy criticism for only contributing eight points on four shot attempts and seven rebounds in the 112-101 defeat.
“For me, just being more aggressive, finding my spots and attacking more; I think I could have done a better job of that,” Duren said after Tuesday’s practice, per Coty Davis of the Detroit News. “I just spent time watching the film over, and, over, and over again, seeing where I wasn’t most effective at and just trying to capitalize on that next game.”
The All-Star center acknowledged that the Magic had an effective strategy to neutralize him. The Pistons will have to develop some counters for Game 2 on Wednesday.
“They just had a good game plan, packing the paint. Anytime I had catches deep, they collapsed on me,” Duren said. “They were coming from everywhere. I did not get as many shot attempts (four) as I should have. There were times when I did catch myself one-on-one, and I’ve seen those moments before, and I want to get more of those opportunities. But for the most part, they were collapsing from anywhere.”
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Doc Rivers’ stint with the Bucks is over and he insists it was “100%” his decision and not management’s edict. “It wasn’t a hard decision. It’s probably on your mind your last couple years,” Rivers said to Andscape’s Marc J. Spears. “It had nothing to do with the season or anything like that. There’s times where you feel like you’ve had your run. I still love it. I still love coaching. But I don’t ever want my job to become work. I guess that is the best way of saying that. It’s more of a labor of love. So, I just felt like it was time. It was not like some lightning strike or something like that. I told ownership that a while ago.”
- The Bulls are also seeking a new coach after parting ways with Billy Donovan on Tuesday. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania (video link), Donovan was offered the opportunity to not only remain as Chicago’s coach but also a front office job as an alternative. He chose instead to walk away. “They offered him any amount of years that he wanted to stay as coach, any type of extension he wanted, even a high-ranking managerial role,” Charania said. “But Billy Donovan wanted to keep coaching and he actually had an option in his contract for next season and he decided to decline it and step down as head coach.”
- The Bulls currently hold the ninth and 15th overall picks in this year’s draft with hope of moving up from No. 9 during the draft lottery. The way it shakes out and the choices that they make will have a cascading effect on the roster, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. Players such as Anfernee Simons, Leonard Miller, Zach Collins and Nick Richards could be impacted by which rookies the Bulls select this June.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Named Clutch Player Of Year
Thunder guard and reigning Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has added another accolade to his collection, having earned the league’s Clutch Player of the Year Award, according to the NBA league office (Twitter link).
Gilgeous-Alexander scored a league-leading 175 points on 51.5% shooting from the field in 125.1 clutch minutes played this season. He also led the league with 52 made field goals in the clutch. He played 52.3 fewer minutes in clutch situations than Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, who ranked second in the NBA with 166 total points.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the NBA with 16 go-ahead field goals in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime this season, including a game-winning step-back three-pointer versus Denver on March 9. The Thunder posted a 124.5 offensive rating and 23.8 net rating during clutch time, both second-best in the NBA. Oklahoma City went 24-10 in clutch games this season.
Per the NBA’s “clutch” tracking data, Gilgeous-Alexander’s average of 6.5 points in the clutch is the best in the NBA among those who played more than one clutch game, according to The Athletic’s Joel Lorenzi.
Murray and Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards were the other finalists, but Gilgeous-Alexander was the runaway winner, gaining 96 of a possible 100 first-place votes from a media panel. Murray narrowly beat out Edwards for second place — while the Wolves star showed up on more total ballots, Murray held the edge in second-place votes and was the runner-up by a single voting point (117 to 116).
A total of 10 players received votes. The full results can be found here.
This is the fourth season that the league has given out a Clutch Player of the Year award. Knicks guard Jalen Brunson won it last season and finished fifth in this year’s vote.
Latest On Lakers’ Austin Reaves, Luka Doncic
Austin Reaves (left oblique strain) will remain on the inactive list for Game 2 of the Lakers‘ first-round series against Houston on Tuesday night, but there’s still a chance that he’ll be able to suit up later in the series, ESPN’s Shams Charania said during an appearance on NBA Today (Twitter video link).
“The sense around the Lakers is that Austin Reaves is actually the one that’s further along than Luka Doncic in their respective rehab processes,” Charania said. “I am told Austin Reaves has started one-on-one on-court work. The next step for him is to continue to go through the progressions of three-on-three, five-on-five.
“Remember, early April, he had a four-to-six week timetable. So theoretically that puts him on track (to return) late in this series (or) potentially early in the next series.”
The prognosis isn’t quite as positive for Doncic, who is dealing with a left hamstring strain. According to Charania, the Lakers aren’t expecting the perennial MVP candidate to return to action during the first round.
A recovery timeline for Doncic was never specified, but he has dealt with some left hamstring issues in the past and suffered a Grade 2 strain this time around, so the Lakers will be careful not to rush him back before he’s ready. His injury typically requires a recovery period of at least four weeks — and sometimes more than that.
The Lakers’ ability to extend or win the series without their two star guards is an open question, but the team took care of business at home in Game 1 on Saturday, registering a 107-98 win as Luke Kennard led the way with a team-high 27 points.
LeBron James (13 assists) and Marcus Smart (eight assists) took on additional play-making duties in Game 1 for the Lakers, who benefited from the fact that Kevin Durant was sidelined with an injury of his own. Durant is listed as questionable to play in Game 2 on Tuesday and doesn’t seem likely to be at 100% if he suits up.