The 2025–26 NBA season was the 80th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 21, 2025 and ended on April 12, 2026. The third edition of the in-season NBA Cup tournament was held from October 31 through December 16, 2025, with the New York Knicks winning it against the San Antonio Spurs. The 2026 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 15, 2026, at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. The play-in tournament to attempt and win a playoff spot was played from April 14 to 17, 2026, followed the next day by the opening of the playoffs. In a rematch of the NBA Cup final, the Knicks defeated the Spurs in five games in the 2026 NBA Finals.
Transactions
Retirements On June 29, 2025, Bojan Bogdanović announced his retirement from professional basketball, citing recurring foot injuries. He played for six teams in his ten-year NBA career. On August 18, 2025, Marco Belinelli announced his retirement from professional basketball. He spent 13 seasons in the NBA and won an NBA championship with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014. On August 19, 2025, John Wall announced his retirement from professional basketball. He played for three teams in his 13-year career. On August 30, 2025, Jeremy Lin announced his retirement from professional basketball. He played for eight teams in his nine-year NBA career. He is best known for the "Linsanity" phenomenon when he played with the New York Knicks in the 2011–12 season. He later won an NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019. On October 15, 2025, Malcolm Brogdon announced his retirement from professional basketball. He played for five teams in his nine-year career and was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2017. On November 22, 2025, Chris Paul announced that the 2025–26 season would be his last after playing for seven teams during his 21-year career. He was named NBA Rookie of the Year in 2006 and was the last remaining active player from the 2005 NBA draft. He announced his retirement from professional basketball on February 13, 2026. On December 2, 2025, Danilo Gallinari announced his retirement from professional basketball. He played for eight teams over a sixteen-year career. On May 7, 2026, P.J. Tucker announced his retirement from professional basketball. He played for eight teams over a fourteen-year career. Known for his defense, he won a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021. On May 12, 2026 Damion Lee announced his retirement from professional basketball. He played for three teams in his seven-year career, winning a championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2022.
Draft The 2025 NBA draft took place on June 25–26 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Free agency Free agency negotiations began on June 30, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. ET. Players may be signed after the July moratorium on July 6 at 12:00 p.m. ET.
Notable trades In the largest trade in NBA history, involving seven teams and 13 players, the Houston Rockets acquired Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green. The Atlanta Hawks traded Trae Young to the Washington Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. The Los Angeles Clippers traded James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Darius Garland and a second-round pick.
Coaching changes + Coaching changes Team 2024–25 season 2025–26 seasonOff-season Denver Nuggets David Adelman (interim) David Adelman Memphis Grizzlies Tuomas Iisalo (interim) Tuomas Iisalo New York Knicks Tom Thibodeau Mike Brown Phoenix Suns Mike Budenholzer Jordan Ott Sacramento Kings Doug Christie (interim) Doug Christie San Antonio Spurs Gregg Popovich Mitch JohnsonIn-season New Orleans Pelicans Willie Green James Borrego (interim)Portland Trail BlazersChauncey BillupsTiago Splitter (interim)
Off-season On April 14, 2025, the Phoenix Suns fired head coach Mike Budenholzer after one season with the team. On May 1, 2025, the Sacramento Kings hired Doug Christie as their full-time head coach. On May 2, 2025, Gregg Popovich stepped down as Spurs head coach after 29 seasons with the team. Assistant coach Mitch Johnson was named the head coach. On May 2, 2025, the Memphis Grizzlies hired Tuomas Iisalo as their full-time head coach. On May 22, 2025, the Denver Nuggets hired David Adelman as their full-time head coach. On June 3, 2025, the New York Knicks fired head coach Tom Thibodeau after five seasons with the team. On June 6, 2025, the Phoenix Suns hired Jordan Ott as their head coach. On July 7, 2025, the New York Knicks hired Mike Brown as their head coach.
In-season On October 23, 2025, the Portland Trail Blazers named Tiago Splitter as interim head coach, after Chauncey Billups was placed on leave by the NBA due to a federal gambling investigation. On November 15, 2025, the New Orleans Pelicans fired head coach Willie Green after four seasons with the team. Assistant coach James Borrego was named interim head coach.
Preseason In addition to regular preseason games hosted at NBA teams' own arenas, the NBA often hosts neutral site preseason games (either in domestic non-NBA markets or foreign markets) or against non-NBA teams. Listed below are only those neutral site or preseason games.
Domestic neutral site games +DateTeamsArenaLocationWinnerReferenceOctober 3Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles LakersAcrisure ArenaPalm Desert, California Phoenix Suns October 4Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Denver NuggetsPechanga ArenaSan Diego, California Minnesota Timberwolves Orlando Magic vs. Miami HeatJosé Miguel Agrelot ColiseumSan Juan, Puerto Rico Orlando Magic October 5Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Charlotte HornetsNorth Charleston ColiseumNorth Charleston, South Carolina Oklahoma City Thunder October 6Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Dallas MavericksDickies ArenaFort Worth, Texas Dallas Mavericks Denver Nuggets vs. Toronto RaptorsRogers ArenaVancouver, British Columbia Denver Nuggets October 14Houston Rockets vs. New Orleans PelicansLegacy ArenaBirmingham, Alabama Houston Rockets October 15Memphis Grizzlies vs. Charlotte HornetsFirst Horizon ColiseumGreensboro, North CarolinaCharlotte Hornets Dallas Mavericks vs. Los Angeles LakersT-Mobile ArenaParadise, NevadaDallas Mavericks
International games
+ Date Teams Arena Location Winner ReferenceOctober 2Philadelphia 76ers vs. New York KnicksEtihad ArenaAbu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates New York Knicks October 4New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers New York Knicks October 10Phoenix Suns vs. Brooklyn NetsVenetian ArenaMacau, China Phoenix Suns October 12Brooklyn Nets vs. Phoenix SunsBrooklyn Nets
Non-NBA opponents +DateTeamsArenaLocationWinnerReferenceOctober 3Melbourne United vs. New Orleans PelicansRod Laver ArenaMelbourne, Australia New Orleans Pelicans October 4Hapoel Jerusalem B.C. @ Brooklyn NetsBarclays CenterNew York City, New YorkBrooklyn Nets October 5South East Melbourne Phoenix vs. New Orleans PelicansRod Laver ArenaMelbourne, AustraliaNew Orleans Pelicans October 6Guangzhou Loong Lions @ San Antonio SpursFrost Bank CenterSan Antonio, TexasSan Antonio Spurs October 9Guangzhou Loong Lions @ Los Angeles ClippersFrontwave ArenaOceanside, CaliforniaLos Angeles Clippers October 13Guangzhou Loong Lions @ Minnesota TimberwolvesTarget CenterMinneapolis, MinnesotaMinnesota Timberwolves
Regular season The NBA released the regular season schedule on August 14, with select games announced in advance of the full schedule release.
International games
+DateTeamsArenaLocationReferenceWinnerNBA Mexico City Game 2025November 1Detroit Pistons vs. Dallas MavericksMexico City ArenaMexico City, Mexico Detroit PistonsNBA Berlin Game 2026January 15Memphis Grizzlies vs. Orlando MagicUber ArenaBerlin, Germany Orlando MagicNBA London Game 2026January 18Orlando Magic vs. Memphis GrizzliesThe O2 ArenaLondon, United Kingdom Memphis Grizzlies
NBA Cup
The NBA Cup returned for the 2025–26 season, with the same basic structure:
All games except the championship final counting towards the regular-season standings. Six intraconference pools of five (three pools per conference). This season, the group games against each of the other teams in their pool (two at home and two on the road), were held primarily on Fridays between October 31 and November 28. Group games were also played on Tuesday, November 25 and Wednesday, November 26. The winners of each pool (three teams per conference) and two wild-card teams (one team per conference) advanced to a single-elimination tournament held on December 9, 10, 13 and 16. 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 tournament counted as regular-season games 81 and 82. The championship game was an extra 83rd game that did 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 scheduled additional games against other teams that were eliminated in the same conference (if possible) and round to reach 82 games. The semifinals and championship game were held at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada for the third consecutive season.
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 pi – Clinched play-in tournament spot (locked into a play-in spot but not able to clinch a playoff spot directly) ps – Clinched postseason (at least a play-in spot but can still clinch a playoff spot directly) x – Clinched playoff spot * – Division leader
Postponed games January 8: Heat vs. Bulls due to condensation on the court. January 24: Warriors vs. Timberwolves due to the killing of Alex Pretti. January 25: Nuggets vs. Grizzlies and Mavericks vs. Bucks due to the January 2026 North American winter storm.
Play-in tournament
The top six seeds in each conference advanced to the main rounds of the 2026 NBA playoffs, while the next four seeds participated in a Page playoff system tournament from April 14–17, 2026. The 7th-place team hosted the 8th-place team in the double-chance round needing to win one game to advance, with the winner clinching the 7th seed in the playoffs. The 9th-place team hosted the 10th-place team in the elimination round requiring two wins to advance, with the loser being eliminated from the contention. The loser in the double-chance round hosted the elimination-round game-winner, with the winner clinching the 8th seed and the loser being eliminated.
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Playoffs
The playoffs began on April 18, 2026.
Bracket
Statistics Individual statistic leaders Category Player Team(s) Statistic Points per game Luka Dončić Los Angeles Lakers 33.5 Rebounds per game Nikola Jokić Denver Nuggets 12.9 Assists per game Nikola Jokić Denver Nuggets 10.7 Steals per game Ausar Thompson Detroit Pistons 2.0 Blocks per game Victor Wembanyama San Antonio Spurs 3.1 Turnovers per game Luka Dončić Los Angeles Lakers 3.9 Fouls per game Wendell Carter Jr. Orlando Magic 3.4 Minutes per game Tyrese Maxey Philadelphia 76ers 38.0 FG% Rudy Gobert Minnesota Timberwolves 68.2 FT% Cam Spencer Memphis Grizzlies 94.0 3P% Luke Kennard Atlanta/L.A. Lakers 47.8 Efficiency per game Nikola Jokić Denver Nuggets 32.2 Double-doubles Karl-Anthony Towns New York Knicks 57 Triple-doubles Nikola Jokić Denver Nuggets 34
Individual game highs Category Player Team StatisticPoints Bam Adebayo Miami Heat 83 Rebounds Scottie Barnes Toronto Raptors 25 Assists Ryan Nembhard Dallas Mavericks 23Steals Herbert Jones New Orleans Pelicans 8 Tyrese Maxey Philadelphia 76ers Blocks Victor Wembanyama San Antonio Spurs 9Three-pointers Stephen Curry Golden State Warriors 12 Trey Murphy III New Orleans Pelicans
Team statistic leaders