The 2023–24 NBA season was the 78th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 24, 2023, and ended on April 14, 2024. The NBA held their first-ever in-season tournament from November 3 to December 9, with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the tournament against the Indiana Pacers. The 2024 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 18, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The play-in tournament took place from April 16–19, and the 2024 NBA playoffs began on April 20. The NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks started on June 6, with the Celtics winning the championship on June 17, for an NBA record 18th title.
Transactions
Retirement On June 14, 2023, Ekpe Udoh announced his retirement from professional basketball to become an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks. He played for four teams in his 13-year career as well as several teams overseas. On June 18, 2023, Lou Williams announced his retirement from professional basketball. He played for six teams in his 18-year career, earning Sixth Man of the Year honors three times. On July 7, 2023, Luigi Datome announced his retirement right after the 2023 FIBA World Cup. He played for the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics for two seasons while playing most of his career overseas. On July 28, 2023, Udonis Haslem announced his retirement from the NBA. He spent his entire 20-year career with the Miami Heat, winning three championships with the team. Months after, he re-joined the team as the vice president of basketball development. On August 29, 2023, Yi Jianlian announced his retirement from professional basketball after playing five NBA seasons for four NBA teams from 2007 to 2012 and later in his career he played in the NBA D-League, and finished his career overseas. On August 31, 2023, Othello Hunter announced his retirement from the NBA after only playing two NBA seasons with the Atlanta Hawks from 2008 to 2010 and later played in the NBA D-League, and finished his career overseas. On September 29, 2023, Wayne Ellington announced his retirement from the NBA after playing 13 seasons with nine NBA teams. Shortly after retiring, he was hired as the player development coach for the Miami Heat. On October 20, 2023, Andre Iguodala announced his retirement from the NBA. He played 19 seasons with four NBA teams, won four championships with the Golden State Warriors, and was crowned with the NBA Finals MVP in 2015. On December 1, 2023, Terrence Ross announced on his podcast his retirement from the NBA. He played 11 seasons with three NBA teams. On January 4, 2024, Ricky Rubio announced his retirement from the NBA. He played 13 seasons with five NBA teams. On February 1, 2024, Marc Gasol announced his retirement from professional basketball. He played 14 seasons with three NBA teams. He was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2013, and won an NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019. He was also a three-time NBA All-Star. On March 11, 2024, Otto Porter Jr. announced his retirement from basketball. He had played ten seasons on five teams, including winning an NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2022. On April 2, 2024, Rajon Rondo announced his retirement from professional basketball. He played 16 seasons with nine NBA teams. Rondo is a two-time NBA champion, four-time NBA All-Star, has earned four NBA All-Defensive Team honors including two First Team honors, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team in 2012. On April 16, 2024, Blake Griffin announced his retirement from professional basketball. He played 14 seasons with four teams. Griffin is a six-time NBA All-Star, five-time All-NBA Team (3 second-team, 2 third-team), and the NBA Rookie of the Year.
Draft The 2023 NBA draft took place on June 22, 2023, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Free agency Free agency negotiations began on June 30, 2023, at 6 p.m. ET. Players officially signed after the July moratorium on July 6 at 12 p.m. ET.
Free Agency Signings
Jason Lee signs with the Golden State Warriors. Eric Gordon signs with the Phoenix Suns. Dennis Schröder signs with the Toronto Raptors. Derrick Rose signs with Memphis Grizzlies. Dillon Brooks agrees a 4-year contract with the Houston Rockets. The Indiana Pacers signed 2023 NBA champion Bruce Brown a 2-year contract. Donte DiVincenzo, 2021 NBA champion, signed a 4-year deal with the New York Knicks. Patrick Beverley agrees to 1-year deal with the 76ers.
Biggest Trades
The Wizards trade Kristaps Porziņģis to Celtics for Danilo Gallinari, and Mike Muscala. Meanwhile, the Memphis Grizzlies receive Marcus Smart from Boston Celtics and traded Tyus Jones to Wizards.
The Phoenix Suns trade Chris Paul, Landry Shamet to Wizards for Beal, Goodwin, and Todd. It is a three-team trade and also featured the Pacers. The team received Jarace Walker, the 8th overall pick by the Washington Wizards. Wizards trade Monté Morris to Pistons for a draft pick. Victor Oladipo traded by the Heat to OKC Thunder. The Sacramento Kings sent Richaun Holmes and draft pick, Olivier-Maxence Prosper to the Dallas Mavericks. After the trade of Chris Paul to the Washington Wizards, he was traded to the Golden State Warriors for Jordan Poole, Patrick Baldwin Jr., and Ryan Rollins. Obi Toppin traded to Indiana Pacers for two future second-round picks.
Damian Lillard traded to Milwaukee Bucks in a 3-team deal. Deandre Ayton, Jrue Holiday, Toumani Camara sent to Portland Trail Blazers, while Grayson Allen, Keon Johnson, Nassir Little, and Jusuf Nurkić traded to Suns. A few days after the trade of Holiday to the Trail Blazers, the team sent him to Boston Celtics for Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams III, and a couple of picks.
Coaching changes + Coaching changes Team 2022–23 season 2023–24 seasonOff-season Detroit Pistons Dwane Casey Monty Williams Houston Rockets Stephen Silas Ime Udoka Milwaukee Bucks Mike Budenholzer Adrian Griffin Philadelphia 76ers Doc Rivers Nick Nurse Phoenix Suns Monty Williams Frank Vogel Toronto Raptors Nick Nurse Darko RajakovićIn-season Brooklyn Nets Jacque Vaughn Kevin Ollie (interim) Milwaukee Bucks Adrian Griffin Joe Prunty (interim)Doc Rivers Washington Wizards Wes Unseld Jr. Brian Keefe (interim)
Off-season On April 10, 2023, Dwane Casey resigned from his position as head coach of the Detroit Pistons and transitioned to the Pistons' front office. On April 10, 2023, the Houston Rockets fired head coach Stephen Silas after three seasons with the team. On April 21, 2023, the Toronto Raptors fired head coach Nick Nurse after five seasons with the team. On April 25, 2023, the Houston Rockets hired Ime Udoka as their head coach. On May 4, 2023, the Milwaukee Bucks fired head coach Mike Budenholzer after five seasons with the team. On May 13, 2023, the Phoenix Suns fired head coach Monty Williams after four seasons with the team. On May 16, 2023, the Philadelphia 76ers fired head coach Doc Rivers after three seasons with the team. On June 1, 2023, the Philadelphia 76ers hired Nick Nurse as their head coach. On June 2, 2023, the Detroit Pistons hired Monty Williams as their head coach. On June 5, 2023, the Milwaukee Bucks hired Adrian Griffin as their head coach. On June 6, 2023, the Phoenix Suns hired Frank Vogel as their head coach. On June 13, 2023, the Toronto Raptors hired Darko Rajaković as their head coach.
In-season On January 23, 2024, the Milwaukee Bucks fired Adrian Griffin. Joe Prunty, the team's assistant coach, was named the interim head coach. On January 25, 2024, the Washington Wizards fired Wes Unseld Jr. after seasons with the team. Brian Keefe was named interim coach for the rest of the season. On January 26, 2024, the Bucks hired Doc Rivers as their head coach. On February 19, 2024, the Brooklyn Nets fired Jacque Vaughn. Kevin Ollie was named interim coach for the rest of the season.
Preseason The NBA often hosts preseason games in non-NBA markets. +DateTeamsArenaLocationReferenceOctober 8Sacramento Kings vs. Toronto RaptorsRogers ArenaVancouver, British ColumbiaOctober 8Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Clippers Stan Sheriff CenterHonolulu, HawaiiOctober 9Brooklyn Nets vs. Los Angeles Lakers T-Mobile ArenaParadise, NevadaOctober 10Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Clippers Climate Pledge ArenaSeattle, WashingtonOctober 12Detroit Pistons vs. Oklahoma City ThunderBell CentreMontréal, QuebecOctober 12Houston Rockets vs. New Orleans Pelicans Legacy ArenaBirmingham, AlabamaOctober 19Detroit Pistons vs. Oklahoma City Thunder BOK CenterTulsa, OklahomaOctober 19Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles Lakers Acrisure ArenaThousand Palms, California
International games +DateTeamsArenaLocationReferenceOctober 5Dallas Mavericks vs. Minnesota TimberwolvesEtihad ArenaAbu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesOctober 7Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Dallas MavericksOctober 10Dallas Mavericks vs. Real MadridWiZink CenterMadrid, Spain
Regular season The majority of the regular season was released on August 17, with those group play games counting as part of the in-season tournament announced two days earlier on August 15. The two games that were dependent on the results of the in-season tournament and the knockout round schedule were announced at the conclusion of Group play (see details below).
The Spurs played two alternate-site games at the Moody Center at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas in March.
International games Date Teams Arena Location ReferenceNBA Mexico City Game 2023 November 9 Orlando Magic vs. Atlanta Hawks Mexico City Arena Mexico City, MexicoNBA Paris Game 2024 January 11 Brooklyn Nets vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Accor Arena Paris, France
In-season tournament
The NBA introduced the new NBA In-Season Tournament for the 2023–24 season, with all games except the championship final counting towards the regular-season standings. It was modeled after the WNBA Commissioner's Cup and in-season multi-stage competitions held in European soccer. The tournament was structured as follows:
Six intraconference pools of five (three pools per conference). Tuesdays and Fridays during November featured group games against each of the other teams in their pool (two at home and two on the road). These games still counted as regular season games. The winners of each pool (three teams per conference) and two wild-card teams (one team per conference) advanced to a single-elimination tournament. The semifinals and championship game were played in Las Vegas. Players for the tournament champion each received $500,000. To compensate, the NBA's regular season scheduling formula was modified so only 80 games for each team were initially announced during the offseason. The first two rounds of the in-season tournament would then count as regular-season games 81 and 82. The championship game would then be an extra 83rd game that would not count toward the regular season. Teams that did not qualify for the in-season tournament knockout round, or were eliminated in the quarterfinals, were then scheduled additional games against each other that were eliminated in the same conference (if possible) and rounded to reach 82 games.
The schedule for the in-season tournament was released on August 15, 2023, two days before much of the regular season schedule was released. The semi-finals and championship game were hosted in the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada. On December 9, 2023, the Los Angeles Lakers went undefeated in the tournament to win the inaugural NBA Cup title by beating the Indiana Pacers in the championship game. LeBron James won the inaugural Tournament MVP award.
Standings Eastern Conference
Western Conference
By conference
Notes z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs y – Clinched division title x – Clinched playoff spot pi – Clinched play-in tournament spot * – Division leader