NBA:Rosters

NBA RealGM — League Rules

Your roster is what you field. The league spreadsheet is the league's record of it, and your forum roster post must match.

Roster size

Three separate groups, each with its own limit. The counts are independent — a player occupies exactly one.

Group	Limit	Counts against
Active	12 minimum, 15 maximum	Your active roster
G League	3	Your 3 G League spots only
Injured Reserve	2	Your 2 IR spots only

Moving a player to the G League or IR opens an active spot. It does not open cap room — every player in all three groups is paid in full (Salary Cap).

Waiving also opens an active spot immediately, on posting, without waiting out the 48 hours. The cap works differently there: posting frees only 60% of the contract. The spot frees in full, the money does not.

When the limits bind

The 12–15 active limit applies during the season, with opening day as the deadline to comply. Through the off-season you may sit above or below it freely.

The salary cap is different: it binds at all times, off-season included.

Outside the limits in-season

Situation	Consequence
Above 15	Your most recently acquired player is placed on waivers by default
Below 12	Your team is disqualified from post-season play

An exception may be made if you briefly land outside the range mid-move — waiving and signing at once — but do not rely on it.

Bidding while at capacity has its own requirement: you must state how you will create the spot. See Free Agency.

Starting lineup

Slot	Count
Point Guard	1
Shooting Guard	1
Small Forward	1
Power Forward	1
Center	1
Flex	2

Flex takes any position. Everyone else on your active roster is on the bench, so the bench runs 5 to 8 players. Position eligibility follows Fantrax.

Lineups are set daily, and fielding a legitimate one is a standing obligation with enforcement behind it. See In-Season.

How to post

Post in your team's forum, under NBA: Team Forums → your conference → your division → your team. Your G League roster goes there too.

Keeping it current is not optional — an out-of-date roster invalidates free agency bids and blocks re-signs. It must also match the league spreadsheet, which is the source of truth. See GM Responsibilities.

Anyone reading your post should be able to verify your cap and all three counts without research: a summary block, players by position, then IR, G League, and any dead money. The formats below are preferred, not required — see Contracts.

Summary block

Roster Spots: 13/15
Injured Reserve: 0/2
G League: 0/3
Re-Signs: 3/3
Salary Cap: $60,000,000
Total Salary: $57,477,800
Cap Hits: $2,400,000
Cap Space: $122,200

Total Salary is your players only — it does not include cap hits. Cap Space = Salary Cap − Total Salary − Cap Hits.

Re-Signs: X/3 is worth including even though few teams do: it is the fastest way to check your usage against the [RS] tags on your roster.

Dead money

Showing the original contract alongside the computed hit lets anyone check the figure:

Cap Hits
Derek Harper (DAL - PG) $6,200,000 (2026) - [Cap Hit: $2,480,000]

Waivers covers how the hit is calculated.

A complete example

The Phoenix Suns' 2026-2027 roster:

Roster Spots: 13/15
Injured Reserve: 0/2
G League: 0/3
Re-Signs: 3/3
Salary Cap: $60,000,000
Total Salary: $57,477,800
Cap Hits: $2,400,000
Cap Space: $122,200

Point Guard
Dennis Johnson (BOS - PG/SG) $10,900,000 (2026) [RS]
Sleepy Floyd (GSW - PG) $10,100,000 (2028) [RS]
Michael Adams (DEN - PG) $500,000 (2027)

Shooting Guard
Jeff Malone (WAS - SG) $4,000,000 (2027)
Dale Ellis (SEA - SG) $1,420,400 (2028, 2029x)
Vinnie Johnson (DET - PG/SG) $500,000 (2027)

Small Forward
Dominique Wilkins (ATL - SF) $10,700,000 (2031) [RS]
Trent Tucker (NYK - SG/SF) $6,600,000 (2027) [RSBO]
Paul Pressey (MIL - PG/SG/SF) $2,906,200 (2027, 2028x)

Power Forward
Larry Smith (GSW - PF/C) $5,250,000 (2028)
Xavier McDaniel (SEA - SF/PF) $2,606,200 (2026, 2027x)

Center
Steve Stipanovich (IND - C) $1,500,000 (2028)
Mark Eaton (UTA - C) $495,000 (2025, ~2029x)

Injured Reserve

Valley Suns

Cap Hits
Louis Orr (NYK - SF) $200,000 (2028)
Craig Hodges (MIL - PG/SG) $1,800,000 (2027)
Quintin Dailey (CHI - SG) $200,000 (2027)
Doc Rivers (ATL - PG) $200,000 (2027)

• 13 active players, inside 12–15.
• Three [RS] tags — Dennis Johnson, Floyd, Wilkins — matching Re-Signs: 3/3. Trent Tucker is [RSBO] and uses none of Phoenix's three.
• Salaries $57,477,800 + cap hits $2,400,000 + space $122,200 = exactly $60,000,000.
• Empty IR and G League sections are still listed, so a reader can see they are empty rather than omitted.

Naming your G League section after your real affiliate — Valley Suns — is common and fine.

See also

• Contracts — how to read and write a contract line
• Salary Cap — what counts against the cap, and in what state
• GM Responsibilities — keeping your roster current
• In-Season — setting lineups each week
• G League — eligibility and assignment
• Injured Reserve — who qualifies and the 1-day activation rule