Fantasy How to Play NBA Fantasy: Salary Cap Edition 2026-27
A breakdown of NBA Fantasy: Salary Cap Edition heading into the 2026-27 season, for newcomers and returners alike.
Jack Nelson, NBA.com
September 30, 2026 10:09 PM
Get ready to play NBA Fantasy: Salary Cap Edition this upcoming season, featuring the league's brightest stars.
Welcome back, basketball. We've missed you.
The NBA regular season is just around the corner, with Opening Night set for Oct. 20, and that means another season of NBA Fantasy: Salary Cap Edition is nearly here. Whether you're a prospective newcomer, a seasoned veteran or a bona fide basketball expert, there's plenty of fun to be had by joining the game.
What is NBA Fantasy: Salary Cap Edition?
NBA Fantasy: Salary Cap Edition is exactly what it sounds like β a salary-based fantasy basketball game. You can build your very own team and manage it throughout the season.
To get started, you'll select 10 NBA players. Five of them must be frontcourt players (small forwards, power forwards and/or centers) and the other five must be backcourt players (point guards and/or shooting guards). You can select as many as two players from the same team. If you love the New York Knicks, for example, you could select Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. But you wouldn't be able to have OG Anunoby, too.
Every player has their own salary. Throughout the season, their salary will fluctuate depending on how in-demand they are among general managers like yourself. High-demand players will become more expensive, whereas low-demand players will become less expensive.
The salary cap is set at $100 million, which means the combined salaries of the 10 players on your roster cannot exceed $100M. That's your budget.
Your goal? Earn as many points as possible on each Gameday. You earn points on a given Gameday depending on how the players on your team perform in real-life NBA games. Points and rebounds are worth one fantasy point each. Assists are worth two fantasy points apiece, while blocks and steals are worth three each.
How Your Lineup Works
For each Gameday, you'll choose five players to be in your starting lineup, and it's them who will be responsible for points. Your formation can consist of either two frontcourt players and three backcourt players or two backcourt players and three frontcourt players.
Starters must be chosen no later than 30 minutes before tip-off of the first NBA game of the day, but if you can't choose in time, there's no need to panic. Starters will automatically be selected for you so that, as long as you have a team, you'll earn points on each and every Gameday.
The five players left on your bench can still make a difference. They can serve as substitutions for starters who do not play in a Gameday, perhaps because of a pregame injury. You can assign priorities to potential subs. That way, if a substitution is made, your highest-priority player is subbed in first. Substitutions are done automatically and fit your formation, so only backcourt players are subbed in for backcourt players and vice versa.
Strategy: Building a Balanced Team
The key to earning the most points in NBA Fantasy: Salary Cap Edition is to build a well-balanced team which can be productive from top to bottom. It isn't about trying to recreate the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls or the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors with a roster of All-Stars. Rather, success will come from using your $100M budget wisely β getting the most bang for your imaginary buck.
To do this, you should select a combination of premium players and budget players who all bring value to the table. Treat every player on your team as valuable, because in this game, any one of them can be on any given Gameday.
If you selected Nikola JokiΔ ($23.0M), Luka DonΔiΔ ($21.0M) and Victor Wembanyama ($19.5M), for example, you'd already have used up $63.5M of your budget on three players. Then you'd have an average of just $5.2M to spend on each of the remaining seven.
Consider which high-salary NBA players are the most reliable, since they'll often earn the bulk of your fantasy points. But also consider which low-salary players could be "steals" and earn more points than expected. Finding hidden gems is part of the fun.
This game is all about fun, after all. However you want to play is entirely up to you. Click here to build your team and get ready for the 2026-27 NBA season!
FAQs
Is NBA Fantasy: Salary Cap Edition free to play?
Yes, the game is free. All you have to do is create an account on NBA.com to join.
Can I play with my friends?
Yes. When you make your team, you can create up to 25 private leagues, and there's no limit on the number of teams in a league. Send your friends the unique code for your league and, once they have their own team, they can join in on the fun.
Do I need to know a lot about the NBA?
No. Knowledge about players can help you score more points, but is not necessary to enjoy NBA Fantasy: Salary Cap Edition. We will provide articles throughout the season for you to reference, if you so choose. Basketball fans of all kinds are welcomed and encouraged to play!
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