NBA 2K26 Summer League Format
• Overview: All 30 NBA teams will participate in the NBA 2K26 Summer League 2025 from July 10-20 in Las Vegas.
• Games: A total of 76 games will be played in the 11-day competition. Each team will play at least five games, including four games from July 10-17.
• Playoffs: After each team’s fourth game, the top four teams will advance to the semifinals on July 19. The two winning teams from the semifinal games will participate in the championship game on July 20. The four playoff teams and their seeds for playoff games will be determined by records in the first four games and, if necessary, the tiebreakers set forth below.
• Consolation Games: The 26 teams that do not advance to the four-team playoff will play a fifth game on either July 18 or July 20.
> Tiebreak Criteria
1. Two Teams Tied: If two teams have the same record after the first four games, the following criteria will be utilized in the following order:
• Head-to-head matchup: Head-to-head record.
• Point differential: Better net result of total points scored less total points allowed.
• Total Points: Total points scored.
• Random drawing: If necessary, a random drawing.
2. More Than Two Teams Tied: If more than two teams have the same record after the first four games, the following criteria will be utilized in the following order:
• Point differential: Better net result of total points scored less total points allowed.
• Total Points: Total points scored.
• Random drawing: If necessary, a random drawing.
NBA 2K26 Summer League Playing Rules
The following rules apply to all games at NBA Summer League. Other than as described below, the rules and
procedures that apply to NBA preseason, regular-season, and postseason games apply.
> Game Format
• Both teams are allowed 10 minutes to warm up on the game court prior to the start of each game.
• Each game has four 10-minute periods in regulation play, and overtime if needed.
• Halftime is eight minutes.
> Fouls
• A team reaches the penalty either on its 10th team foul in a regulation period or second team foul in the last two minutes of a regulation period.
• A player fouls out after committing his 10th personal foul of the game, except that during the semifinals and championship game, a player fouls out after committing his sixth personal foul of the game.
> Timeouts
• Each team is entitled to two timeouts per half.
• Two mandatory timeouts will be taken in each period in accordance with the following. A timeout taken by a team in a period will count as the next mandatory timeout due in that period.If neither team has taken a timeout prior to 5:59 of the period, it will be mandatory for the Official Scorer to take a timeout at the first dead ball, but such timeout will not be charged to either team. If no subsequent timeouts are taken prior to 2:59, it will be mandatory for the Official Scorer to take a timeout, but it will not be charged to either team.
• All timeouts will last one minute and 45 seconds.
> Coach’s Challenge
• At any point during the game, a team may utilize a Challenge to trigger instant replay review of only the following three events: (i) a called personal foul charged to its own team; (ii) a called out-of-bounds violation where its own team was not awarded possession; or (iii) a called goaltending or basket interference violation.
• Officials will not have the ability to initiate replay review of a called goaltending or basket interference violation during the final two minutes of the fourth period or overtime.
> Referee-Initiated Instant Replay
The on-court officials may trigger instant replay in only the following situations:
• An altercation occurs.
• Officials are not reasonably certain whether a personal foul met the criteria for a flagrant foul.
• A field goal is made with no time remaining on the clock (0:00) at the end of any period.
• A foul is called with no time remaining on the clock (0:00) at the end of any period.
• A play concludes (i) with no time remaining on the clock (0:00) at the end of any period or (ii) at a point when the game officials believe that actual time may have expired in any period, and, in either case, the officials are reasonably certain that the game clock malfunctioned during the play.
> Overtime
• The initial overtime period lasts two minutes.
• If necessary, the second overtime period is sudden death (i.e., the first team to score wins).
• Each team is entitled to one timeout in each overtime period (regardless of how many timeouts a team called in the second half or, if applicable, the initial overtime period).
• A team reaches the penalty on the second team foul in an overtime period.
• All rules that apply for the final two minutes of regulation apply for the entirety of each overtime period.
> End Of Period “Heaves”
As tested during the 2024-25 NBA G League season, an unsuccessful end-of-period “heave” is treated as a team missed field goal attempt (rather than an individual player’s missed field goal attempt) when all of the following criteria are met:
• The missed field goal attempt took place within the final three seconds of the first three periods of a game.
• The missed field goal attempt was shot from beyond the outer edge of the center circle extended (approximately 36 feet from the basket).
• The play originated in the backcourt.
Please also note the following:
• If a “heave” meets the above criteria and the shot is made, then the player is credited with a standard made field goal attempt.
• If a “heave” meets the above criteria, but the shot is blocked by a defender, the attempt counts as a team field goal attempt, and the defender is credited with a blocked shot. Any associated rebounds after such blocked shot are still credited to an individual player, as appropriate.
> Instant Replay Procedures
All replay reviews, including those triggered by a Coach’s Challenge, will be conducted by the NBA Replay Center (which will be based out of the Thomas & Mack Center at the NBA Summer League).
• The Replay Center will make the final ruling on all replays, except that the on-court officials will make the final determination regarding: (i) an altercation; (ii) whether a personal foul met the criteria for a flagrant foul; (iii) a called foul being reviewed pursuant to a Coach’s Challenge; and (iv) whether a foul proximate to an out-of-bounds violation (being reviewed pursuant to a Coach’s Challenge) should have been called.
• The league will test an experimental procedure that will allow (i) the Replay Center to notify all on-court officials of replay reviews decided by the Replay Center in real time, and (ii) the on-court officials to inform the Replay Center when a replay review is forthcoming.
