NBA Opening Night is here! It doesn’t come with quite the fanfare of Major League Baseball’s Opening Day or NFL Kickoff Weekend, but the NBA is back. And it’s kind of Opening Day for the first time, as the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons start the season in the middle of the afternoon at 3:00 PM ET. The New York Knicks will get their rings and raise their first banner to the rafters in over 50 years. Then, the chase for the 2027 title is on.
With the regular season upon us, NBA teams have finalized their opening night rosters. The league’s financial landscape has never been more complex. The days of being under the cap, over the cap or over the tax are long gone. Now, we have first and second aprons, and 10 different ways to become hard-capped at those aprons.
But don’t fret! We’ve got you covered with where each team stands as the 2026-27 NBA season tips off.
Team Salary Landscape
There are now five buckets that teams fall in, depending on how much team salary they are carrying. We’ll run through them in order of most to least expensive.
Second Apron Team (1 Team)
Denver Nuggets: $3.2 million over the second apron
It’s a sign of the teams adjusting to the “Apron Era” that only the Nuggets are a second-apron team. And Denver is barley over the second apron, and they’re only there because of unlikely bonuses in Cam Johnson’s contract. There’s a good chance by the time the season ends, the Nuggets will be comfortably underneath the second apron.
First Apron Teams (6 Teams)
Golden State Warriors: $12.3 million over the first apron
Minnesota Timberwolves: $7.6 million over the first apron
New York Knicks: $11.8 million over the first apron
Oklahoma City Thunder: $5.7 million over the first apron
Orlando Magic: $10.2 million over the first apron
Phoenix Suns: $4.7 million over the first apron
The first apron is only slightly less restrictive than the second apron. It’s a little easier for these teams to make trades and the like, but only a little easier.
Pretty mixed bag here. The Knicks are the defending champs. The Thunder are title contenders. The Wolves are one level below the Thunder and Spurs in the Western Conference.
The Magic and Suns should be battling for spots in the playoffs. The Warriors are attempting to squeeze ever bit they can from being a playoff team.
Luxury Tax Teams (6 Teams)
Cleveland Cavaliers: $8.5 million over the luxury tax
Indiana Pacers: $5.8 million over the luxury tax
Los Angeles Lakers: $469 thousand over the luxury tax
Miami Heat: $5.7 million over the luxury tax
Philadelphia 76ers: $6.7 million over the luxury tax
Toronto Raptors: $1.0 million over the luxury tax
This group is mostly playoff contenders, with a few potential Finals contenders in the mix.
The Lakers and Raptors are good bets to get out of the tax by the trade deadline. They are so close, and are likely to be very expensive in the future. So, there’s no need to start the tax repeater clock earlier than necessary.
Everyone else is likely to pay the tax as it reflects their status as would-be contenders. The real surprise here is the Indiana Pacers. It’s been more than 20 years since the Pacers last paid the tax.
Over The Cap Teams (16 Teams)
Atlanta Hawks: $1.7 million under the luxury tax
Boston Celtics: $1.7 million under the luxury tax
Charlotte Hornets: $29.4 million under the luxury tax
Chicago Bulls: $34.6 million under the luxury tax
Dallas Mavericks: $11.1 million under the luxury tax
Detroit Pistons: $5.9 million under the luxury tax
Houston Rockets: $14 thousand under the luxury tax
LA Clippers: $17.1 million under the luxury tax
Memphis Grizzlies: $39.1 million under the luxury tax
Milwaukee Bucks: $12.6 million under the luxury tax
New Orleans Pelicans: $4.1 million under the luxury tax
Portland Trail Blazers: $8.3 million under the luxury tax
Sacramento Kings: $3.1 million under the luxury tax
San Antonio Spurs: $2.1 million under the luxury tax
Utah Jazz: $17.5 million under the luxury tax
Washington Wizards: $5.9 million under the luxury tax
As per usual, the NBA’s largest group of teams is living over the cap, but under the tax. This group is a mix of playoff teams and rebuilding squads, outside of the Spurs, who are absolutely a title contender.
This is where the moves will happen. When there are trades in-season, expect these teams to be involved, either as direct parties or as helpful facilitators. Keep an eye on the Hornets, Bulls, Grizzlies, Clippers, Bucks and Jazz, as they’ve got the room under the tax to take on contracts for future draft assets to help push trades over the line, or to help teams duck the luxury tax.
Under The Cap Team (1 Team)
Brooklyn Nets: $4.9 million under cap
The days of multiple teams hitting the season with oodles of cap space available are over. Teams have to hit the salary floor now, or they miss out on the end-of-year luxury tax disbursement. The Nets once again enter the season as the league’s lone cap space team. This time around, however, Brooklyn isn’t sitting on all that much cap space. But they are miles from the luxury tax, so they’ll still be in play to take on contracts for draft assets.
Hard Caps
All but five NBA teams are facing a hard cap at either the first or second apron. With 10 ways to become hard-capped now, teams are facing more roadblocks than ever to navigate around as they build their rosters. For each hard-capped team, we’ll break down which apron they are hard-capped at, and how much wiggle room they have.
Non-Hard-Capped Teams (5 Teams)
Brooklyn Nets
Denver Nuggets
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
First Apron Hard-Capped Teams (21 Teams)
Atlanta Hawks: $9.1 million under the first apron
Boston Celtics: $10.3 million under the first apron
Charlotte Hornets: $37.5 million under the first apron
Chicago Bulls: $40.9 million under the first apron
Cleveland Cavaliers: $45 thousand under the first apron
Dallas Mavericks: $18.3 million under the first apron
Detroit Pistons: $14.5 under the first apron
Indiana Pacers: $2.2 million under the first apron
LA Clippers: $25.7 million under the first apron
Los Angeles Lakers: $8.1 million under the first apron
Memphis Grizzlies: $45.3 million under the first apron
Miami Heat: $2.8 million under the first apron
Milwaukee Bucks: $15.9 million under the first apron
New Orleans Pelicans: $5.7 million under the first apron
Philadelphia 76ers: $1.8 million under the first apron
Portland Trail Blazers: $16.9 million under the first apron
Sacramento Kings: $7.8 million under the first apron
San Antonio Spurs: $8.0 million under the first apron
Toronto Raptors: $964 thousand under the first apron
Utah Jazz: $26.0 million under the first apron
Washington Wizards: $14.5 million under the first apron
For some of these teams, the hard cap doesn’t really matter. The rebuilding teams aren’t going to end up in range for it to really matter.
For others, like the Cavaliers, Pacers, Heat, Sixers and Raptors they are working up against some extremely tight margins. For some of them, they’ll have to wait until we get quite a way into the season before they can fill their open roster spots.
On the flipside, playoff contenders like the Hawks, Celtics, Pistons, Lakers, Trail Blazers, Spurs and Jazz all have enough wiggle room to take on some salary in trades as in-season needs arise.
Second Apron Hard-Capped Teams (4 Teams)
Golden State Warriors: $348 thousand under the second apron
Houston Rockets: $21.3 million under the second apron
Minnesota Timberwolves: $5.0 million under the second apron
Phoenix Suns: $7.9 million under the second apron
All four of the teams have playoff hopes this season. The Rockets and Suns have enough wiggle room to work under the second apron. Things are tight for the Wolves, but they’re probably ok too. The Warriors have essentially no room to work with. The good news for Golden State? They have a full roster…even if three players (Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody and Kristaps Porzingis) are out for a while with injuries and illness.
Open Roster Spots
Two years ago, we wrote about The NBA’s Vanishing 15th Roster Spot. Last season, 16 teams started the season with an open standard roster spot. To start this season, there are 17 teams with a standard roster spot open around the NBA. There are also four open two-way roster spots.
Open Standard Roster Spots
Boston Celtics
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers*
Denver Nuggets
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Miami Heat
Minnesota Timberwolves
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers*
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors*
*Do not currently have room under hard cap to fill open roster spot
Open Two-Way Roster Spots
Dallas Mavericks
Minnesota Timberwolves
Sacramento Kings
Toronto Raptors
Offseason Spending
For all of the consternation that the “New CBA is ruining the league and no one wants to spend money” teams doled out considerable sums again this offseason. (Note: We’ll have a lot more on this topic in a few weeks!)
Between free agent contracts, rookie signings and extensions, team committed to over $5.8 billion (yes, billion with a “B”) in new money. Of that amount, roughly $4.9 billion is fully guaranteed.
Two seasons ago, teams committed to almost $7.4 billion in new money, with $6.6 billion being guaranteed. This offseason was roughly in line with the 2025 offseason. The main reasons spending was again down a bit this offseason was that we saw fewer rookie scale extensions than two years ago. Veteran extensions were also somewhat down, as fewer players extended this offseason. Some are holding to do in-season extensions after various restrictions lift, while others are delaying new deals until July. In addition, teams are exercising increased caution with the tax aprons, as we’re now fully living in the NBA’s “Apron Era”. The days of handing out the “Fun Max” (trademark Brian Windhorst) are over.
All of that said, the NBA remains as healthy as it has ever been. The league is fairly wide open, with multiple teams fancying themselves as title contenders. The Eastern Conference is deeper than the Western Conference for the first time in almost 30 years. Lottery reform looks like it will drastically curb, if not eliminate, tanking. Well, at least from Day 1 of the season it will! Billions of dollars in new salaries continue to be spent. New arenas in a few cities are on the way. And expansion, both domestic and European, remains likely in the relatively near future. Life is good for all parties involved in the NBA.
Enjoy the season everyone!