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It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The next issue of the Jazz Insiders newsletter will be a dispatch from training camp, which opens on Tuesday. After that is the NBA preseason and then the 2025-26 regular season. Basketball is back.
With that in mind, it’s a good idea to go over some of the key dates of the NBA calendar for the upcoming season.
Finalized rosters
Before the season can begin, NBA teams have to finalize their rosters. This year the deadline is Oct. 20 at 3 p.m. MT. So, teams need to cut down their training camp rosters to 15 (not including two-way deals).
Opening night
The 2025-26 season officially begins Oct. 21, but the Utah Jazz will open their season the following night. On Oct. 22 the Jazz will host the Los Angeles Clippers at 7 p.m. MT.
Rookie scale options
For players that are on rookie scale deals (players that were selected in the first round of the draft and are still on their first contract), team options for the 2026-27 season have to be decided by Oct. 31.
That’s also the day that the NBA Cup tips off, which I’ll be sure to explain in detail before it starts.
Guarantee date
A lot of NBA contracts have specific guarantee dates written into them that determine the date a non-guaranteed or partially-guaranteed player will have his salary fully guaranteed for the remainder of the season. But the final date for that to happen is Jan. 10.
Trade deadline
This is probably the biggest date on the NBA calendar. The 2025-26 trade deadline is Feb. 5 at 1 p.m. MT. While there will be some trades made before the date, expect a flurry of activity in the final hours.
All-Star Weekend
The 2026 All-Star festivities will be held in Los Angeles, primarily at the Intuit Dome, from Feb. 13-15. This includes the main event All-Star Game as well as the dunk contest, skills challenge, shooting contest and all the other All-Star competitions.
Regular-season finale
The last day of the regular season is April 12. For the Jazz, that will likely be the day that all of our collective attention turns to the NBA lottery and the draft. For some other teams, games played on this day and in the days prior could decide playoff positioning and postseason opponents.
New with the Jazz
From the archives
Extra points
- How many Jazz players and former Jazzmen are among the NBA’s top 100? (Deseret News)
- Utah Jazz waive KJ Martin (Deseret News)
- See how the Delta Center’s new bleacher system works (Deseret News)
Around the league
- Trail Blazers’ Scoot Henderson out 1-2 months after hamstring tear
- Sixers: Jared McCain could miss start of the season, and no timeline for Joel Embiid
- LeBron James’ future with the Lakers uncertain, coach JJ Redick gets contract extension