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 post-season. 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 post-season.

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