Report: NBA Salary Cap for 2022-23 Season Projected to Be $121M, Tax Level $147M

The NBA has reportedly informed teams of the projected salary cap and luxury tax levels for the 2022-23 season, both of which are slightly higher than originally anticipated.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the salary cap is expected to be $121 million and the luxury tax threshold is projected at $147 million, which are both $2 million higher than previously estimated.

Those numbers are up from the $112.4 million salary cap and $136.6 million tax level in place for 2021-22.

The salary cap and tax levels generally increase on a year-to-year basis, but the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted those numbers in recent years.

In 2020-21, the cap was $109.1 million and the tax threshold was $132.6 million, which were identical to the previous season.

The 2019-20 regular season was cut short and the playoffs were held in a bubble in Orlando, Florida, amid the pandemic. The 2020-21 season was subsequently shortened to 72 games and many teams had either limited attendance or no attendance throughout the season.

Things have returned to a more normal level this season, although the Toronto Raptors have been playing with no fans in attendance because of COVID-19 protocols in Canada.

During the upcoming offseason, NBA teams will have more money to play with as they explore an intriguing free-agent class.

James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook are among the players with player options for 2022-23 who could hit the open market.

Other players of note set to become free agents are Zach LaVine, Jusuf Nurkic, Robert Covington and Gary Harris.