With the 2024/25 NBA season underway, our calendar of important 2024 preseason dates and deadlines can be retired in favor of a list of the key in-season dates for the ’24/25 campaign.
Here’s a breakdown of the deadlines and events that will influence player movement for the next several months across the NBA:
October 26
- NBA G League draft.
October 28
- NBA G League training camps open.
October 31
- Deadline for teams to exercise rookie scale options for 2025/26.
November 8
- NBA G League Tip-Off Tournament begins.
November 12
- Emirates NBA Cup (in-season tournament) begins.
December 1
- Priority order for waiver claims is now based on 2024/25 record, rather than 2023/24 record. Teams with the worst records receive the highest waiver priority.
December 3
- Emirates NBA Cup group play concludes.
December 10-11
- Emirates NBA Cup quarterfinals.
December 14
- Emirates NBA Cup semifinals.
December 15
- Most offseason signees become eligible for inclusion in trades.
December 17
- 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 2025/26 season.
February 6
- Trade deadline (2:00pm CT).
February 7
- The value of teams’ unused mid-level exceptions and bi-annual exceptions begins to prorate downward by 1/174th per day.
February 14-16
- All-Star weekend in San Francisco.
February 29
- 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 29
- NBA G League regular season ends.
April 1
- NBA G League playoffs begin.
April 10
- Last day to waive a player on an expiring contract or a player with an option for 2025/26 (4:00pm CT).
April 13
- Last day of the NBA regular season.
- Last day players can sign contracts for 2024/25.
- Last day two-way contracts can be converted to standard NBA contracts.
- Luxury tax penalties calculated based on payroll as of this day.
April 14
- Playoff rosters set (2:00pm CT).
April 15-18
- NBA play-in tournament.
April 19
- NBA playoffs begin.
Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ and NBA.com were used in the creation of this post.