NBA:In-Season

NBA RealGM — League Rules

What is required of you once the season starts, and the dates that change how the league runs.

The schedule

A season is 22 matchups, numbered as weeks 1 to 22 in Fantrax.

Weeks 1–18	Regular season
Weeks 19–22	Playoffs

Most matchups run one calendar week. Three run two: NBA All-Star, the NBA In-Season Tournament, and the final matchup of the playoffs.

Two matchups each season are doubles — you play two separate opponents in the same matchup.

Lineups

Lineups are set daily, and every team must field a legitimate one. You cannot rest your better players, the same as in the real NBA.

A matchup runs a week, but the lineup is a daily obligation — which is why missing a day or two is not a violation and leaving spots open is.

Your seven starting slots and the positions that fill them are on Rosters.

What counts as a violation

The rule has leeway, and the benefit of the doubt goes to the GM. It exists to stop teams throwing games, not to police every daily lineup.

Not a violation	Violation
Letting it ride — not maximizing your lineup every day	Purposely not playing your best players
Benching players when you are safely ahead in categories going into the weekend	Leaving lineup spots open
Setting a legitimate lineup of your best players and never subbing	Starting a player who is not on an NBA roster when you have alternatives
Missing a day or two

Tanking itself is not banned. If you want to tank, sign bad players — the rule is about fielding the team you have, not about trying to win every week.

Enforcement

Step	Penalty
1	Warning
2	Warning
3	Loss of a 2nd-round pick
4	Loss of a 1st-round pick

New GMs are asked to post an acknowledgement of this rule. Failing to post does not exempt you from it.

Key dates

End of week 4	Waiver priority switches from last season's final standings to the current season's
End of week 17	Trade deadline — no trades after week 17 concludes
End of week 18	Regular season ends; the playoffs begin

Playoffs

Eight teams per conference, over four matchups — weeks 19 to 22. Run like the real NBA: 1 plays 8, 2 plays 7, 3 plays 6, 4 plays 5.

There are no brackets. After each round the highest remaining seed faces the lowest remaining seed.

The final runs two calendar weeks.

Two different tie-breaker sets apply:

	To make the playoffs	Within the playoffs
1	Head-to-head	Head-to-head
2	Total categories won in the regular season	Win %
3	Division record	Total categories won in the regular season
4	Least categories lost	Division record

Note that seeding uses total categories won before division record, while the in-playoff set matches the regular-season order.

Carrying fewer than 12 active players disqualifies you from the playoffs. See Rosters.

What binds now

Roster size applies. From opening day you must carry 12–15 active players. Above 15 your most recently acquired player is waived by default; below 12 you are disqualified from the playoffs.

The salary cap applies, as it does year-round.

Bidding at capacity requires a declaration. At 15 active players you must state how you will create the spot for a bid to count — this requirement is in-season only.

A G League player who crosses 164 career games mid-season may finish the season down, but must be active by the start of the next one.

Still running

Free agency, waivers and G League moves all run through the season, and free agency continues through the playoffs.

See also

• Rosters — starting slots and roster limits
• GM Responsibilities — the obligations that carry consequences
• Waivers — the week 4 priority switch
• Trades — the week 17 deadline
• League Structure — scoring categories and the standings
• Off-Season — what happens once the season ends