The NBA offseason is officially underway.
The competition may not be over as the Phoenix Suns await the results of the Eastern Conference finals between the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks, but with the NBA schedule going deeper into the summer than usual, this offseason is going to be jam-packed.
The COVID-19-postponed season and the delayed Olympic Games have made the NBA’s offseason schedule even trickier than ever, and along with all the other offseason events it can be difficult to keep up with when everything is happening. That’s where I come in. I’ll try to break this down as simply as possible.
Offseason Schedule
| DATE | EVENT |
|---|---|
| 7/22 | Last possible date for NBA Finals Game 7 |
| 7/23 | Olympic opening ceremonies |
| 7/25 | Olympic basketball begins |
| 7/29 | 2021 NBA draft |
| 8/2 | NBA free agency opens |
| 8/3 | Salt Lake City Summer League |
| 8/6 | Free agents can officially sign contracts |
| 8/7 | Olympic basketball concludes |
| 8/8 | Olympic closing ceremonies |
| 8/8 | Las Vegas Summer League begins |
| 8/17 | Las Vegas Summer League ends |
| 9/28 | NBA training camp starts |
| 10/19 | 2021-22 NBA season begins |
- Olympic qualifying tournaments are already ongoing and the Tokyo Games begin July 23 with the basketball competition beginning July 25 and running through Aug. 7.
- The last possible date for an NBA Finals Game 7 is set for July 22, but the title could be won before that. Meanwhile, teams are hard at work preparing for the NBA draft, which will be July 29.
- Teams won’t have much time after the draft before the most exciting part of the offseason begins. Free agency negotiations can start taking place on Aug. 2 at 4 p.m. MDT. While agreements can be made in principle, free agent signings can’t be made official until Aug. 6.
- The Jazz are certainly going to have a busy time in the first week of August. Not only will they be looking to re-sign Mike Conley, and have to make a decision about free agent Georges Niang, but there will also be other decisions to make about a roster that clearly had deficiencies in the playoffs.
- And that’s not all the Jazz will have on their plate that week. They’ll be hosting the Salt Lake City Summer League on Aug. 3, 4 and 6, running concurrently with the opening of free agency.
- Right after that, they’ll head to Las Vegas for Summer League play, which begins on the same day as the Olympic closing ceremonies, Aug. 8, and runs through Aug. 17.
- Six weeks later, all NBA players are expected to be back in their home markets as training camp begins Sept. 28. The NBA preseason will follow training camp and the 2021-22 NBA season tips off on Oct. 19.
Takes a deep breath
See, I told you that this summer was going to be a whirlwind. Players taking part in the Olympics, summer leagues, any other pro-am games or recovering from injuries aren’t going to have much time to get ready for the upcoming NBA season.
It’s going to all be happening soon and happening fast.
Here we go.