NBA Free Agency 2026 Guide: Top Players Available and Predictions
NBA free agency is the most exciting week of the offseason. Teams with cap space compete for the best available players, and the entire league world can shift in a matter of days. Here is your guide to the 2026 free agency class.
How free agency works
Free agency begins on July 1 at 6 PM ET. Teams can begin negotiating with free agents at that time, but contracts cannot be officially signed until July 6. In practice, most deals are agreed upon within the first few hours of free agency opening. The biggest names are usually off the market by midnight on July 1.
There are two types of free agents: unrestricted (UFA) and restricted (RFA). Unrestricted free agents can sign with any team. Restricted free agents can receive offers from other teams, but their current team has the right to match any offer and keep the player.
Top unrestricted free agents
The 2026 free agent class includes several impact players. Veterans looking for their next opportunity, role players who outperformed their contracts, and a few surprise names who declined player options. The quality of the free agent class varies year to year — some years have multiple superstars available, while others are thin at the top.
Teams with cap space
Cap space is the difference between a team's current salary commitments and the salary cap. Teams with significant cap space can sign free agents to large contracts without needing to make trades or use exceptions. Having cap space is a competitive advantage in free agency because you can offer more money and more years than teams that are over the cap.
The mid-level exception
Teams over the salary cap can still sign free agents using the mid-level exception (MLE). The MLE allows teams to sign one player for approximately $13 million per year. It is the primary tool contending teams use to add talent in free agency. Many quality role players sign for the MLE because they want to play for a winning team.
Sign-and-trade deals
A sign-and-trade allows a team to sign a free agent and immediately trade him to another team. This benefits all parties: the player gets a larger contract, the acquiring team gets the player they want, and the original team gets assets instead of losing the player for nothing. Sign-and-trades have become increasingly common as teams look for creative ways to acquire talent.