Article 20 SCHEDULING

20.1 Training Camp.

Veteran Players will not be required to attend training camp earlier than 11 a.m. (local time) on the twenty-second day prior to the first game of any Regular Season. On such twenty-second day, Veterans may only be required to attend a Team dinner and Team meetings, participate in photograph and media sessions, and submit to a physical examination.
Notwithstanding Section 1(a) above, if a Veteran Player is under contract to a Team that is scheduled during a particular NBA Season to participate outside North America in one (1) or more Exhibition or Regular Season games during the first ten (10) days of the Regular Season (each such Team, a “Global Games Team”), such Veteran Player may be required to attend the training camp conducted in advance of that Regular Season by 11 a.m. (local time) on the earlier of (i) if any such game is scheduled to be held in South America, the twenty-sixth day prior to the first game of the Regular Season; (ii) if any such game is scheduled to be held in Europe, the twenty-seventh day prior to the first game of the Regular Season; and (iii) if any such game is scheduled to be held in Africa, Asia, or the Oceania region, the twenty-eighth day prior to the first game of the Regular Season. If a Global Games Team requires a Veteran Player to attend training camp earlier than the twenty-fifth day prior to the first game of the Regular Season in accordance with the foregoing, then, beginning on the day immediately following the date on which the Global Games Team lands at its destination airport in North America after the game(s) outside North America, such Veteran Player shall be provided one (1) Day Off for each day earlier than the twenty-fifth day prior to the first game of the Regular Season that such Global Games Team required the Player to attend training camp.
“First-Year Players” (defined below) may be required to attend training camp on a date earlier than the date(s) specified in Sections 1(a) and 1(b) above, but no earlier than ten (10) days prior to the date that Veterans on such Team are required to attend. If a Global Games Team requires Veteran Players under contract to the Team to attend training camp earlier than the twenty-fifth day prior to the first game of the Regular Season pursuant to Section 1(b) above, and further requires First-Year Players to attend training camp on a date that is ten (10) days prior to the date that Veterans on such Team are required to attend, then, beginning on the day immediately following the date on which the Global Games Team lands at its destination airport in North America after the game(s) outside North America, each such First-Year Player shall be provided one (1) Day Off for each day earlier than the thirty-fifth day prior to the first game of the Regular Season that such Global Games Team required the First-Year Player to attend training camp.

For purposes of this Section 1(c), “First-Year Player” means a player with zero (0) Years of Service who is under Contract to a Team.
1. Team training camps may be held at any location, within or outside the United States and Canada. The NBA shall oversee the arrangements made with respect to any training camp held outside the United States and Canada and the accommodations provided to participating players.
2. The NBA shall be required to notify the Players Association of its intention to conduct a team training camp outside the United States and Canada. Within three (3) business days of its receipt of such notification, the Players Association shall have the right to disapprove such plans, provided that such disapproval may be based solely on a reasonable and well-founded concern that the location of such training camp would be unsafe for players.
3. No Team shall hold its training camp outside the United States and Canada in any two (2) successive Seasons, it being understood that limited practice sessions held in connection with one (1) or more exhibition games outside of the United States or Canada shall not be considered training camp for the purposes of this Section 1(d)(iii).
4. Players on a Team that holds its training camp outside of the United States and Canada shall have at least one (1) day off following the travel day during which they travel back to the United States or Canada from such training camp.
For purposes of this Section 1(d), the U.S. Territories and Caribbean islands shall not be considered “outside the United States and Canada.”
1. During any six (6) days beginning on the day after the first day of training camp and ending on the fourteenth (14th) day of training camp (the “Two-a-Day Period”): (A) a Team shall be permitted to conduct no more than two (2) regular practice sessions per day; (B) such session(s) may last an aggregate of no longer than 3.5 hours (excluding time – not to exceed 30 minutes – spent stretching and participating in aerobic warm-ups and cool-downs); (C) there must be at least a two (2) hour interval between the two (2) practice sessions; and (D) if a Team elects to conduct two (2) regular practice sessions during a day, one (1) of the two (2) sessions must be limited to non-contact activities. For the remainder of training camp, a Team shall be permitted to conduct no more than one (1) regular practice session per day and such session may last no longer than 3.5 hours (excluding time – not to exceed 30 minutes – spent stretching and participating in aerobic warm-ups and cool-downs); provided, however, that any Team that is unable due to international travel for pre-season events to conduct two (2) practice sessions per day during the Two-a-Day Period may make up any missed practice sessions (up to a maximum of two (2)) during the first five (5) days upon the Team’s return from such international travel.
2. If a Team conducts one (1) or two (2) regular practice sessions during a day in accordance with Section 1(e)(i) above, then except as provided in clause (A) of Section 1(e)(iii) below, the Team shall not, at a separate time during the day, conduct, organize or supervise any additional basketball activity on the basketball court.
3. Nothing in Sections 1(e)(i) and (ii) above shall be construed to prohibit a Team, on any day of training camp, from conducting one (1) or two (2) regular practice sessions in accordance with Section 1(e)(i) above, plus:
  1. on-court skills development sessions (e.g., pick-and-roll situations, shooting, passing, etc.) not involving the playing of live defense (i.e., only “dummy” defense may be played) and not involving the practicing of four-man or five-man offenses or defenses; and
  2. team-related or training-related activities (including, but not limited to, weight training, other conditioning sessions (excluding high-impact conditioning drills that are normally conducted during regular practice sessions), video sessions, meetings, and promotional appearances), so long as such additional activities do not include any basketball activity on the basketball court that is organized, supervised, or conducted by the Team.

20.2 Exhibition Games.

Exhibition games prior to any Regular Season shall not exceed six (6) (including intra-squad games for which admission is charged), and Exhibition games during any Regular Season shall not exceed three (3).
Exhibition games shall not be played on the three (3) days prior to the Team’s first Regular Season game in the United States or Canada, on the day prior to a Regular Season game, or on the day prior to and the day following the All-Star Game.

20.3 Regular Season Games.

Each Team agrees that in no event will it play more than eighty-two (82) Regular Season games.

20.4 In-Season Tournament.

Each Season, the NBA shall determine and supervise the arrangements made with respect to an In-Season Tournament, which shall consist of two stages: (a) the group stage and (b) the knockout stage.

Group Stage. All Teams shall participate in the group stage. Each Team shall play a total of four (4) group stage games. Such games shall be scheduled by the NBA to take place in the first two (2) months of the Regular Season on two (2) designated days of the week.
1. To determine the schedule of group stage games, the NBA shall divide the Teams in each Conference into three (3) groups of five (5) Teams each (each group, a “Group Stage Group”) via random drawings. In the group stage, each Team shall play one (1) game against each of the other four (4) teams in its Group Stage Group.
2. Each Group Stage Group shall include one team from each of the following subgroups, which are based on the Teams’ winning percentage in the prior Regular Season:
  1. First- through third-highest in the Conference,
  2. Fourth- through sixth-highest in the Conference,
  3. Seventh- through ninth-highest in the Conference,
  4. Tenth- through twelfth-highest in the Conference, and
  5. Thirteenth- through fifteenth-highest in the Conference.
Knockout Stage.
1. Eight (8) Teams shall participate in the knockout stage:
  1. The Team with the best winning percentage in group stage games in each of the Group Stage Groups; and
  2. One (1) “wildcard” Team from each Conference, which shall be the Team from each Conference with the best winning percentage in group stage games that finished second in the standings in group stage games in its Group Stage Group.
2. Each game in the knockout stage shall be a single elimination game (i.e., the Team that wins such game shall advance to the next round of the knockout stage and the Team that loses shall be eliminated from the In-Season Tournament).
3. For the first round of the knockout stage (the “IST Quarterfinals”), in each Conference, (A) the Team with the highest winning percentage in group stage games shall host the “wildcard” Team, and (B) the Team with the second-highest winning percentage in group stage games shall host the Team with the third-highest winning percentage in group stage games.
4. The games in the second round of the knockout stage (the “IST Semifinals Games”) and the In-Season Tournament championship game (the “IST Finals Game”) shall be played at a neutral site (i.e., not the home arena for any participating Team).
5. A player (including a Two-Way Player) shall not be eligible to participate in the IST Finals Game with a participating Team if such player was not on such Team’s roster as of the start of the first scheduled IST Semifinals Game.
6. The twenty-two (22) teams that do not participate in the knockout stage shall each play two (2) additional Regular Season games during the knockout stage on days on which knockout stage games are not scheduled. The four (4) Teams that play in the IST Quarterfinals but do not qualify for an IST Semifinals Game shall each play one (1) additional Regular Season game during the knockout stage on days on which knockout stage games are not scheduled.
Each game played as part of the In-Season Tournament other than the IST Finals Game shall be a Regular Season game. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the IST Finals Game shall be considered a Regular Season game for all purposes under this Agreement except: (i) a Team’s Regular Season winning percentage or standings; (ii) Article II, Sections 11(b)(ii)-(iii), 12(b), and 13(j); (iii) Article IV, Sections 1(b) and 3(a)(7); (iv) Article XI, Sections 1(e)(ii) and 1(e)(iv); (v) Article XX, Sections 3 and 9(e); and (vi) NBA By-Laws Section 5.05(b) (the provisions of which are referenced in and attached to the Uniform Player Contract).
League Honors. Each Season, players will be selected for Most Valuable In-Season Tournament Player and All-Tournament Team honors based on their performance in group stage games and knockout stage games in the In-Season Tournament that Season.
Players Association Event. The Players Association may schedule and hold a public event to be included on the official NBA calendar for the In-Season Tournament, with such event subject to approval by the NBA. The NBA and Players Association shall work together in good faith to avoid scheduling such Players Association event at the same time as a public NBA event. For clarity, this Section 4(e) shall not preclude the Players Association from holding other events during the In-Season Tournament that are not included on the official NBA calendar for the In-Season Tournament.

20.5 Location and Scheduling of Games.

Exhibition and Regular Season games may be conducted at any location, within or outside the United States and Canada. The NBA shall supervise the arrangements made with respect to games conducted outside the United States and Canada and the accommodations provided to participating players.
Each year the NBA shall establish the schedule of Regular Season, In-Season Tournament, Play-In, and playoff games in its discretion (subject to Article XXXIX, Section 5), provided that the number of days beginning on the date of the first Regular Season game and continuing through the date of the last Regular Season game each Season shall equal approximately one hundred seventy-four (174). Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any such games are cancelled due to one or more events set forth in Article XXXIX, Section 5 (e.g., weather or natural disasters) or any other unexpected game cancellation (e.g., due to unexpected unavailability of a Team’s arena or transportation), the NBA may reschedule any such cancelled game(s) in its discretion, after consulting with the Players Association.
Prior to the NBA’s public announcement of the Regular Season game schedule each year, the NBA shall provide the Players Association with an initial draft of such schedule (no later than the date that such draft is provided to all NBA teams), and the Players Association shall have an opportunity to provide the NBA with comments (within at least as many days as NBA teams are given by the NBA to provide such comments). The NBA shall identify for the Players Association any game(s) included in such draft schedule in which a Team is scheduled to play on the same day that such Team has traveled across two (2) time zones. The NBA shall consider, but shall have no obligation to make any changes in respect of, the Players Association’s comments regarding the draft schedule. The Players Association shall keep the draft schedule confidential, including by maintaining the confidentiality of any differences between the final schedule publicly announced by the NBA and the draft schedule previously received by the Players Association.

20.6 Holidays.

No Team will be required to play a game on December 25, unless such game is to be telecast or cablecast nationally.
Games scheduled to be played on January 1 and Good Friday shall not commence prior to 6 p.m. (local time), unless the Players Association consents thereto, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld. The Players Association will, upon request, consent to the earlier commencement of two (2) games on Good Friday and four (4) games on January 1 if such games are to be broadcast or cablecast nationally, and provided that the Teams involved are in the same time zone or otherwise in close geographic proximity.
Teams at home on December 25 and January 1 (each, a “Holiday”) may, but shall not be required to, conduct a practice on either (or both) of such Holidays, provided: (i) the Team’s players have requested that they practice on the Holiday, as communicated to the Team by the Team’s player representative; and (ii) within seven (7) days before or after the Holiday, the Team’s players are provided with a “day off” – i.e., the Team will not conduct any practice, including any optional practice, on such date, and the Team will not have a scheduled game on such date.
Teams shall not depart for an away game or series of away games prior to 3 p.m. (local time) on December 25 or January 1, unless reasonable transportation arrangements for such game or games cannot be made at or after 3 p.m. (local time).

20.7 All-Star.

No Team that plays a game on the Thursday prior to the All-Star Game shall play a game on the Tuesday following the All-Star Game or conduct a practice session prior to such Tuesday at 2 p.m. (local time).

20.8 Travel.

The NBA and its Teams shall use their best efforts to devise reasonable travel schedules when Team training camps, Exhibition games, and Regular Season games are conducted or played outside the United States and Canada.

20.9 Days Off.

Each Team will provide a minimum of eighteen (18) Days Off during each Regular Season for each of its players on dates to be determined by the Team. A “Day Off” means a calendar day on which a player is not required or permitted to participate in any Team directed activities, including, but not limited to, games, practices, travel, or promotional activities. Without limitation, Days Off shall include days that satisfy the foregoing definition and are provided: (i) during All-Star Weekend pursuant to Article XXI, Section 4 (only with respect to players not participating in All-Star activities); and (ii) in locations other than the Team’s home city (such as when the Team is “on the road”). Under no circumstances shall a Team pressure or coerce a player into providing services for the Team on a player’s Day Off. Nothing contained herein shall prevent any player on his Day Off from voluntarily engaging in individual basketball related activity at the Team’s facility or elsewhere (including, but not limited to, individual activity with Team coaches, trainers, or medical personnel). Each Team shall maintain a list of the Days Off provided to each player on such Team during the Regular Season.
A calendar day shall not fail to meet the definition of a Day Off because the Team is traveling on such day, provided the Team lands at its destination point (i.e., lands at its destination airport or, if the Team has not flown and is instead traveling by train or bus, arrives at the final destination of such train or bus) before:
1. 1:00 a.m. (local time at the destination point) on such day if, at the time of departure, the local time at the departure point (i.e., the airport from which the Team departs, or if the Team has not flown, the point from which the Team’s form of transportation, such as a train or bus, departs) is the same or later than the local time at the destination point, or
2. 2:00 a.m. (local time at the destination point) on such day if, at the time of departure, the local time at the departure point is earlier than the local time at the destination point.
For any calendar day on which the Team arrives at its destination point at or after 1:00 a.m. (local time at the destination point) that (a) could not meet the definition of a Day Off in accordance with subsection (i) above, and (b) could meet the definition of a Day Off in accordance with subsection (ii) above, in order for such calendar day to meet the definition of a Day Off, the Team must, before concluding traveling as a team (i.e., before the players who traveled with the Team disembark from the final plane, train, or bus), notify the one or more players who traveled with the Team and will be provided a Day Off on that calendar day that they will be provided a Day Off on that calendar day.
For a player whose Player Contract is entered into after the first day of the Regular Season, the Team will provide a minimum number of Days Off during such Regular Season, rounded up or down to the nearest whole Day Off, calculated by multiplying 18 by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of days covered by the Player Contract during such Regular Season (including the day on which the Player Contract is entered into), and the denominator of which is the total number of days in such Regular Season; provided, however, that:
1. A Team is not required to provide any Day Off to a player during a Regular Season if the term of his Player Contract covers fewer than 25 days during such NBA Regular Season (including the day on which the Player Contract is entered into). Teams are also not required to provide any Day Off to a player whose Player Contract is a Two-Way Contract; and
2. A player who signs a Rest-of-Season Contract after March 1 of a Regular Season may waive his right to receive Days Off pursuant to this Section 9 for such Regular Season. Such waiver must be in writing, signed by the player, and approved by the Players Association.
For a player whose Player Contract is assigned by one Team to another Team during a Regular Season via trade or the NBA’s waiver procedure, the assignor Team’s obligation pursuant to Article XX, Section 9(a) shall be deemed satisfied with respect to the player for such Regular Season, and the acquiring Team will provide the player a minimum number of Days Off during such Regular Season calculated as if the player had entered into a Rest-of-Season Contract: (i) in the case of a trade, on the date that all conditions to the trade are satisfied; or (ii) in the case of a waiver claim, on the date that the acquiring Team acquires the player’s Contract pursuant to the NBA waiver procedure.
In the event that any Season does not include at least an eighty-two (82) game Regular Season schedule, the requirements of Sections 9(a)-(d) above shall not apply and the NBA and Players Association will negotiate an alternate Days Off rule for such Season.