Category: Basketball

NBA free agency is not entirely wrapped up for 2025. There are a few name players still available — Russell Westbrook, Malcolm Brogdon, although Amir Coffey may be the best of them — and some restricted free agents still looking for the best deal possible, such as Jonathan Kuminga and Josh Giddey (among others).

That said, it's time to gaze into the future — what about next summer, the free agent class of 2026?

It's not setting up to be the deepest class (free agency is not how star players generally switch teams in the apron era), and who is in this group could certainly change between now and next July, but here are the names to look ahead to in free agency a year from now.

Biggest name

LeBron James

Agent Rich Paul's not-so-subtle statement when LeBron James picked up his option to play with the Lakers this season put the NBA trade rumor mill into high gear, but the reality of the marketplace was always that he would play this season out in Los Angeles.

Next season? That's when things get interesting. What might happen depends in large part on how LeBron feels and how this season plays out in Los Angeles — is he still healthy and playing at a high enough level to have contenders willing to make a bold move to land him? Does he stay in L.A. with his family? LeBron isn't going to finish out his career just anywhere, but if he wants to go to the Knicks or return to the Cavaliers, is he willing to sign on at a very steep discount to make that possible? Could a sign-and-trade be worked out that would also benefit the Lakers?

There are far more questions than answers right now, but that's not going to stop the storylines — LeBron James' free agency will be a big story during this season and could be the story of the summer of 2026.

Players likely to sign extensions

These are players who, as of now, could be free agents but likely will not be next summer.

Kevin Durant: Durant is entering the final year of his contract, but he and the Houston Rockets are expected to work out a two-year extension (the longest he can sign because of the over-38 rule). The question becomes, how much of a haircut on his salary is KD willing to take to help out Houston? The conventional wisdom was always that he would take a little less to be on a team he wanted to be part of, but how much less? What is his market now as an elite but aging scorer, one who is still one of the biggest draws in the league? Whatever the number, the expectation is that a deal will get done and KD will stay in Houston beyond just this season.

Trae Young (player option): The Hawks want to kick Young extension talks down the road, likely to next summer, but neither side is looking to part ways. Eventually, an extension, maybe a shorter one (two years?), will be reached, but until then, the possibility of Young opting out of his $48.9 million and becoming a free agent is on the table (and something the Hawks want to avoid).

John Collins: This may be the most interesting of this group. Collins moves to the Clippers this season, joining a veteran team — Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Ivica Zubac — that could highlight his skill set and make him even more valuable. Collins averaged 19 points and 8.2 rebounds a game last season when healthy, shooting 39.9% from beyond the arc. There are a lot of teams that could use a stretch four like him and there will be demand if he has a strong season.

Dyson Daniels: The Hawks' Most Improved Player and All-Defensive wing is headed to restricted free agency next summer if he does not sign an extension before this season starts. Reportedly, both Daniels and Atlanta want to get a deal done, so an extension likely will come together. But if the Hawks low-ball him, Daniels could choose restricted free agency next year and other teams would have interest in trying to poach him.

Likely unrestricted free agents

Kristaps Porzingis: His future with the Hawks — and how much demand there will be for him around the league — will rest on how healthy he looks this season and how he meshes with Trae Young. That said, 7-foot rim protectors who can shoot the 3 always have a market and there will be teams calling KP next summer.

Norman Powell: He was traded to Miami for the final year of his contract, making $20.5 million. He is coming off a season where he made a leap (in year 10!) and averaged 21.8 points a game while shooting 41.8% from beyond the arc. At age 32, the Clippers were hesitant to give Powell the longer extension that he wanted, which helped lead to the trade, but is Miami going to feel any differently (Miami is also trying to keep its books clean to make a big swing at a superstar down the line)? While the Heat and Powell may work out an extension, his hitting free agency seems a very real possibility.

Anfernee Simons: Simons was traded to a Celtics team that liked his ability to score, averaging 19.3 points and 4.8 assists per game last season. He can get a bucket from anywhere on the court, and Boston needs that next to Jaylen Brown. However, the Celtics are not done dealing and may try to move Simons at the deadline, and even if they don't, he may not be in their long-term plans once Jayson Tatum returns. How this season goes for Simons will determine where his salary goes from the $27 million he is making this season, but he very well could be a free agent.

Coby White: White signed a three-year, $36 million contract coming off shoulder surgery, a deal he has completely outplayed. He is expecting to get paid next summer, reportedly he is looking for something in the $30+ million a year range, and even if the final number falls short of that, expect a big pay increase for the young guard. The Bulls might try to lock him up, depending on what happens with restricted free agent Josh Giddey, but one way or another, White is going to get paid.

Khris Middleton: How much does the former All-Star and Olympian still have in the tank? The Wizards are holding on to the veteran forward and will be looking to trade him during the season, but if a deal doesn't come together, look for a midseason buyout. All of that points to him being a free agent next summer, right before his age 35 season. He's going to have to show he's got enough left to get a contender to pick him up.

CJ McCollum: I feel like I could just copy and paste a lot of what was written above about Middleton: McCollum is on the Wizards, and they will be looking to trade him all season long, if not, they could buy him out. How much does McCollum have left in the tank entering his age 34 season? When healthy last season he averaged 21.1 points and 4.1 assists a game, do that again and there will be some free agent interest in him.

Veterans with player options

Austin Reaves: Reaves will be a free agent. There is zero chance he is picking up his $14.9 million player option, even if he plans to stay with the Lakers. Reaves reportedly wants to be paid in the Tyler Herro range of $30 million a year (and Herro is a good comp in a lot of ways). If Reaves shows this season that he can be a high-level scorer next to Luka Doncic and can step up his game in the playoffs, the Lakers gladly will pay that much to keep him (and Reaves will want to stay). However, if he struggles again in the playoffs, the Lakers — who will have a lot of cap space — may question whether that is the best way to spend their money.

James Harden: This summer, Harden signed a two-year contract with the Clippers that gives him a $42.3 million player option for the 2026-27 season, and the smart bet is he will pick that up. The Clippers are working to keep their books clean for the summer of 2027 (not so coincidentally, when Giannis Antetokounmpo might be a free agent) and are not likely to offer the aging Harden (35) another extension. Is there a $40+ million market for Harden beyond the Clippers? If not, he'll grab the bag on the table.

Draymond Green: Still the anchor of the Warriors' defense, Green has a $27.7 million player option for 2026-27. Golden State is still all-in on trying to win another ring with Stephen Curry, and with that, it's tough to see Green walking away (or being traded). But it's hanging out there, and it's something to watch. There would be teams interested in his defense and leadership.

Zach LaVine: LaVine's future is heavily dependent on where he is playing after next February's trade deadline — Sacramento is open to trading the wing who averaged 23.3 points a game last season. LaVine has a $48.9 million player option, if he's traded his new team may want to work out an extension. If not, does LaVine grab that bag, or possibly go into free agency next summer, open to taking a little haircut off that number per year for the sake of getting three or four years of security? There are more questions than answers with LaVine at this point. Things will be a lot clearer after the trade deadline.

Bradley Beal: Beal has a player option at the taxpayer mid-level exception of $5.6 million for the 2026-27 season. The Clippers plan to keep their books wide open for the summer of 2027 and to remain flexible; they are not going to offer an extension that gives Beal a big raise. What Beal does next summer will depend on how this season goes. Does he want to stay with the Clippers at this number, or will he have stayed healthy and played his way into a raise? He can hit the free agent market if he wants.

Fred VanVleet: VanVleet signed a two-year, $50 million contract this summer to stay with the Rockets, and with that has a $25 million player option for 2026-27. He very likely picks that up, but he could choose free agency if he wishes.

Veterans with team options

Lu Dort & Isaiah Hartenstein: We're lumping these two together because they're part of the same equation in Oklahoma City: At what point do quality role players such as Dort and Hartenstein get let go because the team is headed deep into the luxury tax? The Thunder are projected to be about $24 million over the second apron in 2026-27 (when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren all will be making more than $40 million a season). The stockpile of draft picks the Thunder have gives them the ammunition to make moves (or draft players) to step into the roles of guys such as Hartenstein and Dort. At some point, the Thunder will likely trim salaries around their stars. Does this start with Hartenstein ($28.5 million team option) and/or Dort ($18.2 million) next summer?

Brook Lopez: The Clippers will likely pick up the $9.2 million team option for Lopez a year from now. However, depending on how this season goes, it is possible that Los Angeles does not bring back the floor-spacing veteran center.

Bogdan Bogdanovic: The veteran guard has a $16 million team option for next season. If the Clippers don't trade him, they likely pick up the option, especially if the plan is to head into next season with a roster similar to this year's. If he is traded, it could be to a team looking to make him a free agent to save money.

When the then-record $6.1 billion sale of the Boston Celtics to Bay Area tech investor Bill Chisholm was announced, part of the deal was that current team governor Wyc Grousbeck would stay in that role until 2028.

Nope. Grousbeck will step aside and Chisholm will take over as the team's governor when the sale is completed soon, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.

This isn't a shock, and it echoes what happened with Mark Cuban's sale of the majority of the Dallas Mavericks to Miriam Adelson and her family. Cuban thought and announced that he was going to stay on and oversee basketball operations, but that turned out not to be the case (the Luka Doncic trade would never have happened on his watch).

With Jayson Tatum out for most, if not all, of next season, Chisholm's Celtics have been aggressive in reducing their payroll and associated luxury tax, trading away Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, among others. All their moves have knocked the Celtics' tax bill down by about $300 million for next season, although the team still has the fifth highest payroll in the league and remains $12 million into the luxury tax (don't be shocked if Boston makes another move or two in an effort to get below that number and reset the repeater tax). All that cost-cutting is going to hit the Celtics on the court, where they still have an impressive top of the roster led by Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, but things get thin pretty quickly with this group.

Choosing to make this a gap year and reduce an enormous tax bill is defensible, even smart, in a season where the Celtics are not expected to compete for a title due to Tatum's injury. The real test of Chisholm as an owner comes in a year: What is he willing to spend to rebuild a contending roster? With Tatum and Brown at the top, as well as others such as White, the Celtics have the foundation of a team that could hang banner No. 19, but will the new ownership spend what it takes to fill out the roster with quality and win?

Bradley Beal had options after he agreed to a buyout with Phoenix that allowed the Suns to waive-and-stretch the remaining money on his contract — Beal was a free agent. Teams from across the league were calling.

Beal chose the Los Angeles Clippers. Why? To win a ring, he told Tamar Sher of KMOV 4 when Beal was back in his hometown of St. Louis.

"I feel like I've got a new life of rejuvenation for sure, a new hunger."

Beal is stepping into a key role with the Clippers, the one Norman Powell played at a near All-Star level for the team last season: Sharpshooter to space the floor, being a secondary shot creator on the wing next to James Harden, and running the second unit. Beal has come to a team that should win a lot of games: The Clippers were a 50-win team last season and should be improved after adding solid veteran depth around Harden and Kawhi Leonard, such as Brook Lopez as a backup center and John Collins at the four.

But are they contenders? Can Harden be trusted in the playoffs? Will Leonard be healthy?

The other challenge for coach Tyronn Lue will be balancing a deep roster, but one that has some one-way players. For example, do the Clippers start Beal next to Harden for the offense, or start Kris Dunn for the defense? Is Collins the starting four, or does he come off the bench and Derrick Jones Jr. starts because of his superior defense? Lue tried not to play Dunn and Jones Jr. together last season because it ruined the team's floor spacing. Lue has to find that balance again.

Beal has joined a team where he feels comfortable, is going to have a big role, and is going to do a lot of winning in the regular season. However, he may not need to formalize his ring size just yet.

The WNBA has endured two epidemics this season. The first, which I discussed two weeks ago, is a surge of injuries around the league. The second is something that almost no one saw coming and became a national headline.

Last week, we learned why lime green adult toys have been thrown onto the courts in over one-third of WNBA cities. A group of crypto traders launched a meme crypto coin that mirrored the toys. To garner attention for their coin, this group coordinated a plan to make sure these toys were thrown across the country.

While representatives from this group claimed that their intent wasn’t to demean women’s sports, that’s exactly what happened. That negative, demeaning attention reached many spheres, with the President of the United States’ son posting an AI-generated meme mocking the players and the league.

This latest prank is representative of how for so long women’s basketball and the WNBA were often treated every single day. The online bullying, the jokes across mainstream media that punched down.

It’s not funny and it never was. Just like most social progress, a step forward is often countered with at least one step back. The WNBA’s growth over the past two years and this prank in response is a case in point. Now that the dust has settled, and arrests and investigations are underway, it’s time to take another step forward instead of retreating.

Now onto the basketball. This week is the continuation of Rivals Week, a new league initiative where the WNBA is spotlighting a bunch of different matchups that feature the most established stars and most intriguing young stars in the league. The WNBA also wanted to be able to spotlight rivalries throughout league history in addition to the potential and bubbling ones of the present while also trying to create some more drama when it comes to playoff positioning.

While the idea is creative and thoughtful in theory, it hasn’t been working out so well in practice. The first 2024 WNBA finals rematch came at the end of July, and the final three matchups, two of which have been scheduled during rivals week, are going to be without both Liberty star Breanna Stewart and Lynx MVP frontrunner Napheesa Collier.

“You never know what's gonna happen with teams and the league didn't know that [Collier]and I were both gonna be out,” Stewart told reporters on Sunday. “But you want to see everybody full throttle. That's the first game of the season, or the second or the third. Not August.”

Is the league trying to do too much in this one week that began on Saturday August 9 and concludes on Sunday August 17? Build rivalries, showcase stars, create playoff seeding tension. It’s a lot to try to accomplish all under the singular umbrella of Rivals Week.

Also, Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve expressed that while the league should be trying to build rivalries, it cannot prematurely assign them based on one highly exciting playoff series. It needs to be organic just like the iconic rivalry between the Lynx and the Sparks of the mid 2010s which gave fans a look into what would happen around a decade later.

“There's a chance, I think by the end of 2025, [Lynx vs. Liberty] becomes a rivalry through what happens during the course of this regular season and then whatever happens in the playoffs,” Reeve said on Sunday. “I don't think we're there yet, but the league says we are.”

The Week Ahead

As noted above, this week is the continuation of Rivals Week, a new WNBA initiative sponsored by bank and prominent women’s sports sponsor Ally. The Liberty play two of their “rivals” over the week in the Minnesota Lynx yet again in addition to the Las Vegas Aces who New York faced in two straight years during the postseason. The Atlanta Dream play the Seattle Storm twice in a two-game mini series that concludes in Canada, which will be the WNBA’s first regular season game in Canada before the expansion team the Toronto Tempo launch in 2026.

Not all of the games played this week during the continuation of Rivals Week represent full fledged rivalries. As Reeve said on Sunday, there needs to be multiple matchups of consequence played between two teams for them to be considered a rivalry that can stand the test of time.

New York Liberty @ Las Vegas Aces

(Wednesday August 13 at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN)

While the dynamics between these two teams have shifted ever since Kelsey Plum left the Aces for the Sparks, this is still a matchup between some of the best talent in the league. And this is still a matchup that both teams will get up for. A’ja Wilson will battle against Jonquel Jones as both players missed time during the second matchup on July 8. The Aces have been on a tear winning four out of their last five games while the Liberty have gone 3-2 in that same span of time without 2023 league MVP Breanna Stewart. Since the Liberty are coming off a back-to-back, the Aces should have the advantage, although the Aces have struggled with consistency in 2025. How will the Liberty handle an Aces team that has played better with Jewell Loyd coming off the bench? And how will Las Vegas handle a New York team with Emma Meesseman? It’s a look Wilson, Becky Hammon and company have yet to see.

Seattle Storm vs. Atlanta Dream

(Friday August 15 at 10 p.m. ET on ION)

The hottest team in the Dream face off against the ice-cold Storm that have lost five straight games including two back-and-fourth offensive slogs against the Aces and the Sparks. Before these two teams face each other in Vancouver, Canada on Friday for the WNBA’s first regular season game in Canada prior to the Tempo’s launch, these two will also play each other in Seattle on Wednesday night. Will new acquisition Brittney Sykes help the Storm find a win to propel themselves out of 8th place in the standings? Without Brittney Griner and Rhyne Howard for most of the Dream’s five game winning streak, first year coach Karl Smesko and Atlanta are making a push to catch the New York Liberty and earn home court advantage.

Las Vegas Aces @ Phoenix Mercury

(Friday August 15 at 10:00 PM ET on ION)

Las Vegas has had Phoenix's number so far this season, beating the Mercury twice during the first half of the season, although both games the Aces have won by a combined 4 points. Even when the Aces struggled with their consistency especially on the defensive end, A’ja Wilson led the way in both contests scoring 14 points in the first matchup and putting up a monster 26/18 double-double in the second. This will be Vegas’ first look at the Mercury with DeWanna Bonner who joined the team on July 8. Via multiple sources familiar with the situation, Bonner was very close to signing with the Aces but then chose the Mercury. I will be curious to see how the Aces play against Bonner for the first time after she passed on them. 

New York Liberty @ Minnesota Lynx

(Saturday August 16 at 2:00 p.m. ET on CBS)

The Liberty are put through the ringer this week. After suffering a tough loss to the Lynx on Sunday where Minnesota’s swarming defense created 22 points off 20 turnovers, New York heads west to play a back-to-back on Tuesday and Wednesday before flying to Minneapolis to face the Lynx on Saturday.

While the Liberty might be exhausted, they’ll at least have a day to practice, something they haven’t had since Emma Meesseman made her debut on August 3. Presumably without Napheesa Collier for the third out of fourth 2024 WNBA Finals matchup, the Lynx will look to win the season series against the Liberty, and they’ll have five days without any games this week to be able to do so. It will come down to which team is most alert: the one in game rhythm or the one without a single game for five days. Will the Liberty learn from their mistakes in the first two games or will the Lynx continue rolling even without their best player?

Atlanta Dream @ Golden State Valkyries

(Sunday August 17 at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV)

Both the Dream and Valkyries are looking to elevate their playoff standings. As of this writing, the Dream are tied by record for second place with the Liberty but New York has the tiebreaker having beat Atlanta twice out of three times that the two teams have played. What’s the difference between second and third place? A lot. First and second place in the standings guarantee home court advantage through at least the first two rounds, while third place most likely just means the first round unless a higher seed is knocked out early. The Valkyries are clinging to seventh, with the Storm and Sparks less than two games back in eighth and ninth respectively. The Sparks will play just hours before this matchup against the Mystics, yet another team that’s currently hanging around in the playoff picture amid the team’s most recent moves prior to the trade deadline. Although it seemed quite clear that those moves communicate the franchise's lack of enthusiasm to try to make the playoffs in 2025.

The stars will be out on Oct. 21 as the NBA tips off its season and makes its long-awaited return to NBC — plus the games are now streaming on Peacock.

The NBA opens its season on that October Tuesday with tip-off doubleheader on NBC and Peacock: The Houston Rockets at the Oklahoma City Thunder on the night that OKC raises its championship banner; then, one of the NBA's great rivalries resumes as Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors travel to Los Angeles to take on LeBron James and the Lakers. Those games were announced this morning by NBC Sports and the NBA on the TODAY show (another six games coming to Peacock and NBC also were announced).

In the season opener, starting at 7:30 ET, reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his teammates will get their championship rings from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver before the game, then watch the first championship banner in Oklahoma City get raised to the rafters. In a bit of dramatic irony, the Thunder will then start the defense of their title against the Houston Rockets and Kevin Durant — a player who was arguably the best player ever to put on a Thunder uniform, but someone unable to get OKC that final step to a title (he left the Thunder to win two rings with the Warriors). This game is also a showdown of the top two seeds in the Western Conference from a season ago.

In the second game of the evening, scheduled for 10 p.m. ET, Curry and LeBron renew their rivalry that includes four NBA Finals series (and 22 total Finals games). While those two aging stars remain some of the biggest draws in the league, a lot of attention will be on their team's other powerhouses — the Lakers' Luka Doncic and the Warriors' Jimmy Butler. Doncic, in particular, will pique the interest of a lot of fans after his offseason conditioning and diet — photos of him looking much thinner and in better shape went viral.

Peacock NBA Monday

NBC Sports and the NBA also announced today the debut games for Peacock NBA Monday — weekly games exclusively streaming on Peacock — as well as the four games for a quadrupleheader on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 19, 2026.

Peacock NBA Monday will debut Oct. 27 with an exclusive streaming doubleheader, starting with Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers taking on Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons from Detroit, starting at 7 p.m. ET. That will be followed by Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves hosting Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets in Minneapolis at 9:30 p.m. ET.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Quadrupleheader

NBC Sports will present a quadrupleheader on Martin Luther King Jr. Day — Jan. 19, 2026 — featuring some of the biggest names in the league, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Trae Young, Gilgeous-Alexander, Mitchell, Cooper Flagg, Jalen Brunson, Jaylen Brown and more. The games are:

• 1:00 p.m. ET: Milwaukee Bucks at Atlanta Hawks (Peacock exclusive)
• 2:30 p.m. ET: Oklahoma City Thunder at Cleveland Cavaliers (NBC/Peacock)
• 5:00 p.m. ET: Dallas Mavericks at New York Knicks (NBC/Peacock)
• 8:00 p.m. ET: Boston Celtics at Detroit Pistons (NBC/Peacock)

All season long, every NBA game presented by NBC Sports will stream nationwide on Peacock. The complete schedule for the 2025-26 NBA on NBC and Peacock slate will be released this Thursday.