The Five Lists

Players can be placed on five different lists:

1. Active List;
2. Inactive List;
3. Two-Way List;
4. Voluntarily Retired List;
5. Suspended List.

Roster Size Requirements

Regular Season

Requirement – Active and Inactive List

Need 14 or 15 Players on its Active or Inactive List during the Regular Season.

Exception for Less

Can have 12 or 13, in aggregagate, for 2 consecutiuve weeks and 28 total days during the Regular Season.

Exceptions for More

1. Authorized to sign 10-Day Contracts Player pursuant to NBA hardship rules;
2. Player is subject to in-patient treatment program and has missed at least 3 consecutive games due to treatment.

Requirement – Active List Only

Need 12 to 15 Players on its Active List during the Regular Season.

• Exception – For no more than two consecutive weeks and a total of 28 days, a Team can have 11 Players on its Active List.

Other Requirements

Need a minimum of 8 Players on the bench during the Regular Season.

A Team may have up to three Two-Way Contracts, which don’t count toward minimum/maximum roster requirements.

Suspended List

Leagues Suspension – If suspended by the League, the Player can be transferred to the Suspended List after the 5th game (opening an available Roster Spot).

Team Suspension – If suspended by the Team, the Player can be transferred to the Suspended List after the 3rd game (opening an available Roster Spot).

Offseason

After the Team’s last game of the Season, the Team may have 21 Players on its Active List (including Two-Way Contracts).

Players on the Inactive List and Two-Way List are transferred to the Active List for the Offseason.

Two-Way Players

Two-Way Players are either on the Active List, Inactive List or Two-Way List.

He is on the Active List or Inactive List when performing services to the NBA Team, and on the Two-Way List at all other times.

Under Fifteen Games – A Team cannot have more than 90 “Under Fifteen Games” during the Regular Season.

• Calculating Under Fifteen Games: (i) The Team has fewer than 15 Players signed to Standard NBA Contracts and (ii) the number of Two-Way Players on the Active List for such game is the number counted toward “Under-Fifteen Games” (i.e. if there are 13 players signed to Standard Contracts and 2 Two-Way Players on the Active List for the game, then it counts as two Under-Fifteen Games)

Potential Adjustment to the Rule

The CBA built in an adjustment to the minimum requirement rules should too many Teams employ the minimum 14 Players.

Increasing the Minimum Roster Size

If the leaguewide average players employed per Team is 14.25 for two consecutive Seasons, then starting the following Season, the minimum roster is 15 Players rather than 14 or 15 Players. A Team may then have 13 or 14 Players for 2 consecutive weeks or 28 total days.

Dropping Two-Way Roster Spot

If the leaguewide average players employed per Team is 14.5 for two consecutive Seasons, then the NBPA can choose to drop the maximum Two-Way spots from 3 to 2.

Calculating Average Roster

Below are the steps outlined in the CBA to calculate average League-Wide Rosters:

Step 1 – Determine number of days during the Regular Season all players were carried on the Teams Active/Inactive list under a Standard Contract.

Step 2 – Multiply the number of NBA Teams by the number of days in the Regular Season by 14.25 or 14.5 (depending on the rule you are applying above).

Step 3 – If, for two consecutive Seasons, the result in Step 1 is less than Step 2, then the rules are triggered above.

G League Assignments

A Player on a Standard Contract can be assigned to the G League without consent if he has less than 3 YOS. Otherwise, the Team requires consent from the Player and the NBPA.

When assigned to the G League he is placed on the Team’s Inactive List.

The cause for a G League Assignment cannot be disciplinary.

Postseason Eligibility

Two-Way Players

Two-Way Players are ineligible for the Postseason. However, if a Player signs a Standard Contract prior to the end of the Regular Season, then he will be eligible for Postseason play.

Waived Players

Any Player that is waived after 11:59 P.M. on March 1st is ineligible for Postseason play if he signs with a new Team.

• Exception – Signing Team’s Active List is reduced to 8 Players due to injury or illness.