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In the current iteration of the NBA, free agency can make all the difference. A team's vulnerabilities are perhaps as impactful as its stars, and it wasn't a coincidence the Celtics and Thunder won championships immediately after shoring up needs around their stars.
While superstars — or, at least, superstars willing to leave their team — are rare in unrestricted free agency, they do come around every so often. LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard are among modern stars who have made seismic moves on the open market and changed the NBA.
Even if a James or Durant type of player isn't on the open market, talent can be found and vulnerabilities can be addressed by dangling money in free agency.
Here's a complete guide to NBA free agency, including all of the terms you need to know.
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When is NBA free agency?
The path to the offseason in the NBA is a quick one. Here are the key dates regarding free agency.
Day after NBA Finals concludes
Starting the day after the NBA Finals end, teams can start negotiating with their own pending free agents. That means teams have more than a week and, in some cases, about two weeks to exclusively try to work out a deal with their own players before they hit the open market.
June 30
Free agency traditionally starts at 6 p.m. ET on June 30 each summer. The start time used to be midnight on July 1, but as more free agents began to agree to deals right at the start, the league turned free agency into more of a prime-time event by moving it up six hours.
Players can agree to deals with new teams as early as 6 p.m. ET, but they cannot officially sign until the NBA's moratorium is lifted.
July 6
The league-wide moratorium on free agent signings ends on July 6, allowing players to officially sign with teams even if they agreed to deals a handful of days earlier.
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Types of NBA free agents, explained
Unrestricted free agents
Unrestricted free agents are exactly what they sound like they are: free agents with no restrictions. Once a player becomes an unrestricted free agent, he is no longer tied to his former team and is free to sign with any team.
Restricted free agents
Restricted free agents are free to speak to any team, but they can only agree to an offer sheet with a team other than their own. Once they agree to an offer sheet with another team, their current team has the right to match the offer and retain them. In many cases, teams try to craft an offer sheet in a way that makes it as difficult as possible for the player's current team to match.
Teams, meanwhile, can renounce their rights to restricted free agents, making them unrestricted. For example, the Warriors renounced the rights to Harrison Barnes in 2016 after Kevin Durant announced he was joining the team.
Two-way contract free agents
Free agents with fewer than four years of NBA experience can sign two-way contracts with teams. Two-way contracts allow players to split time between the NBA and the G League. In 2024-25, players on two-way contracts made about $578,577, half of the NBA rookie minimum salary, and they could be active for no more than 50 of their team's 82 games.
In addition to free agents, second-round picks are also common recipients of two-way deals.
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Exhibit 10 and non-guaranteed deals
Free agents can sign Exhibit 10 or other non-guaranteed contracts, which are effectively a chance to try out during the summer league or training camo. Exhibit 10 contracts, which are typically not guaranteed and come in at the league minimum salary, give teams a chance to convert a player to a two-way deal. Exhibit 10 deals are also to get out of, as teams can typically waive the player with no consequences.
Salary cap exceptions
Bird rights and early Bird rights
Bird rights, named for the exception first granted to the Celtics for Larry Bird, allow a team to go over the salary cap to retain one of its own players. A player acquires Bird rights when he has either been with the same team for three seasons or gone three seasons without being waived or changing teams through free agency. For example, a player who spends two full seasons with the Celtics before being traded to the Suns would still have Bird rights because he did not change teams as a free agent.
Players can earn early Bird rights after two seasons in the same scenario, but early Bird rights come with contract limitations. A team can only give a player with early Bird rights a new deal at a maximum of 175 percent of his previous salary or 105 percent of the league average salary from the previous season.
Non-qualifying veteran free agent exception
A player without Bird or early Bird rights can be re-signed under the non-qualifying veteran free agent exception for either 120 percent of his previous salary of 120 percent of whichever league minimum salary applies to him.
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Bi-annual exception
The bi-annual exception is available to teams above the salary cap but below the first luxury tax apron. It can only be used once every two seasons and is typically only used by 2-4 teams each season. The exception allows teams to sign or re-sign players at a price below the mid-level exception but above the league minimum, and teams can offer as much as a two-year deal with a five percent salary increase in the second season.
In 2024-25, Nicolas Batum and Aaron Holiday were the only two players to play under the bi-annual exception. Because they used it, the Clippers and Rockets do not have the bi-annual exception available for 2025-26.
Mid-level exception
For players who command more money than the bi-annual exception, the mid-level exception is available.
Taxpayer
Teams above the first luxury tax apron but below the second apron can sign or re-sign players for up to two seasons using the mid-level exception. The first-year salary on the taxpayer mid-level exception was no higher than $5.168 million in 2024-25, but the exception can be used to sign multiple players as long as their salaries fit under that mark.
Non-taxpayer
For teams above the salary cap but under the first luxury tax apron, the full mid-level exception is available with a maximum first-year salary of $12.822 million as of 2024-25. Teams can and often do fit multiple players under the exception. For non-taxpayers, contracts under the mid-level exception can span as long as four years.
Room exception
For teams under the salary cap, the mid-level exception is called the room exception. It was worth $7.983 million in 2024-25 with contracts spanning up to three years. It isn't as valuable as a non-taxpayer exception because teams with salary cap space available already have room, thus there is not as much of a need for an exception. As of 2024-25, teams can also use the room exception for a player acquired through trade or waiver claim.
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Rookie exception
Under the rookie exception, NBA teams can sign their first-round pick for anywhere between 80 percent and 120 percent of that player's rookie scale salary. Teams can also use an exception to sign a second-round pick to a standard contract.
Minimum salary exception
The minimum salary exception allows teams to sign players to one or two-year contracts worth whichever minimum salary applies.
Disabled player exception
Teams can apply for the disabled player exception if a player suffers a season-ending injury or illness. There are limitations on the exception, however. Any player brought in under the exception must make the lesser of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception or 50 percent of the injured player's salary. Teams can apply until Jan. 15, and the injured player must be ruled to be unable to play through June 15 of the current season for a team to be granted the exception.
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Traded player exception
Whether in the same transaction or in a separate transaction, teams can replace a traded player with one player or multiple players whose salaries amount to a maximum of 100% of the outgoing player's salary. The exception can stand for one year in the case of non-simultaneous player additions to replace a traded player. For teams below the luxury tax aprons, the exception can be used to acquire a player whose salary is higher than 100 percent of the traded player.
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