NBA, NBPA Officially Sign, Announce New CBA; Includes In-Season Tournament

The NBA and National Basketball Players Association announced Wednesday that both sides have put pen to paper on a new collective bargaining agreement that will run through the 2029-30 season.

The league and players association initially agreed to terms on a new CBA in April. Now that is has been signed, it will go into effect this weekend.

One of the biggest changes under the new CBA is an in-season tournament featuring all 30 teams beginning during the 2023-24 campaign. The tournament will occur during the first two months of the regular season and eight teams will advance to a knockout round following the group stage.

Players on the final four teams will be financially compensated, and every game aside from the championship game will count as part of the 82-game regular-season schedule.

Additionally, there will be a second salary-cap apron about $10 million above the first apron. The first apron is set at $172.3 million in 2023-24 and the second apron will come in at $182.8 million.

The second salary-cap apron is aimed to limit the NBA's biggest spending teams. Franchises that exceed the second apron will lose the taxpayer mid-level exception.

Some other new details of the updated CBA include:

• Individual player awards—such as MVP, All-NBA, Defensive Player of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year—have a 65-game minimum for eligibility. 
• Marijuana has been removed from the anti-drug testing program. 
• The number of two-way players a franchise can sign has been increased from two to three. 

The full CBA is available to view by clicking here.

With the CBA signed, the NBA will not have to worry about a lockout, otherwise known as a labor-related stoppage. The last lockout occurred in 2011 and the 2011-12 campaign was reduced to 66 games.

Attention can now shift to free agency, which will begin Friday at 6 p.m. ET. All eyes will be on some of the league's top free agents, including James Harden (player option), Kyrie Irving, Fred VanVleet and Khris Middleton.