NBA Hard Cap Tracker
Which NBA teams are hard capped for 2026-27 and at which apron, with each team's hard cap line, payroll and room remaining underneath it, plus every move that triggers a first or second apron hard cap.
Updated · 2026–27 season
Hard Cap Overview
| Team↕ | Hard Cap | Hard Cap Line | Payroll | Room Under Hard Cap | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Golden State Warriors | Hard Capped — 2nd Apron | $221,686,000 | $220,838,432 | $347,568 | Room to spend |
Philadelphia 76ers | Hard Capped — 1st Apron | $209,015,000 | $207,186,472 | $1,828,528 | Room to spend |
Miami Heat | Hard Capped — 1st Apron | $209,015,000 | $206,624,256 | $2,130,571 | Room to spend |
Indiana Pacers | Hard Capped — 1st Apron | $209,015,000 | $206,299,934 | $2,235,066 | Room to spend |
Toronto Raptors | Hard Capped — 1st Apron | $209,015,000 | $199,831,125 | $2,321,362 | Room to spend |
Minnesota Timberwolves | Hard Capped — 2nd Apron | $221,686,000 | $213,355,434 | $4,525,566 | Room to spend |
Phoenix Suns | Hard Capped — 2nd Apron | $221,686,000 | $193,028,455 | $5,460,494 | Room to spend |
San Antonio Spurs | Hard Capped — 1st Apron | $209,015,000 | $198,279,967 | $7,535,033 | Room to spend |
Los Angeles Lakers | Hard Capped — 1st Apron | $209,015,000 | $200,897,322 | $8,117,678 | Room to spend |
Cleveland Cavaliers | Hard Capped — 2nd Apron | $221,686,000 | $206,016,499 | $9,786,519 | Room to spend |
Sacramento Kings | Hard Capped — 1st Apron | $209,015,000 | $191,497,403 | $10,074,091 | Room to spend |
Boston Celtics | Hard Capped — 1st Apron | $209,015,000 | $198,722,406 | $10,292,594 | Room to spend |
Atlanta Hawks | Hard Capped — 1st Apron | $209,015,000 | $196,085,729 | $11,472,836 | Room to spend |
Portland Trail Blazers | Hard Capped — 1st Apron | $209,015,000 | $191,824,641 | $16,922,327 | Room to spend |
Washington Wizards | Hard Capped — 1st Apron | $209,015,000 | $192,013,028 | $17,001,972 | Room to spend |
Dallas Mavericks | Hard Capped — 1st Apron | $209,015,000 | $177,194,562 | $19,604,320 | Room to spend |
Houston Rockets | Hard Capped — 2nd Apron | $221,686,000 | $200,413,923 | $21,272,077 | Room to spend |
Los Angeles Clippers | Hard Capped — 1st Apron | $209,015,000 | $185,362,825 | $23,652,175 | Room to spend |
Utah Jazz | Hard Capped — 1st Apron | $209,015,000 | $180,515,680 | $28,499,320 | Room to spend |
Charlotte Hornets | Hard Capped — 1st Apron | $209,015,000 | $179,704,708 | $28,810,292 | Room to spend |
Chicago Bulls | Hard Capped — 1st Apron | $209,015,000 | $161,925,408 | $44,774,475 | Room to spend |
Memphis Grizzlies | Hard Capped — 1st Apron | $209,015,000 | $137,763,803 | $46,992,176 | Room to spend |
Detroit Pistons | Hard Capped — 1st Apron | $209,015,000 | $154,337,535 | $54,677,465 | Room to spend |
Brooklyn Nets | Not Hard Capped | — | $160,056,358 | — | Free to exceed the aprons |
Denver Nuggets | Not Hard Capped | — | $217,460,512 | — | Free to exceed the aprons |
Milwaukee Bucks | Not Hard Capped | — | $168,320,596 | — | Free to exceed the aprons |
New Orleans Pelicans | Not Hard Capped | — | $200,012,198 | — | Free to exceed the aprons |
New York Knicks | Not Hard Capped | — | $218,412,232 | — | Free to exceed the aprons |
Oklahoma City Thunder | Not Hard Capped | — | $214,279,492 | — | Free to exceed the aprons |
Orlando Magic | Not Hard Capped | — | $209,865,321 | — | Free to exceed the aprons |
What a hard cap actually is
The luxury tax and the two aprons are lines a team pays for crossing. A hard cap is different: it is a ceiling the team may not be above at any moment for the rest of the league year, whatever it is willing to pay. There is no fine for going over it, because going over it is not allowed — the transaction that would do it is simply rejected.
No team starts a season hard capped. A team hard caps itself, the moment it uses a tool the CBA reserves for teams below a given apron. The cap then sits at that apron for the whole league year and does not lift if the roster gets cheaper.
What triggers a hard cap at the first apron ($209,015,000)
- Using any part of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception
- Using the bi-annual exception
- Acquiring a player in a sign-and-trade
- Taking back more salary than it sends out in a trade, using the over-the-cap salary-matching rules
- Signing a player who was waived during the season with a salary above the non-taxpayer mid-level
- Using a trade exception generated in a prior-year sign-and-trade
What triggers a hard cap at the second apron ($221,686,000)
- Aggregating salaries of two or more players in a trade
- Taking back any more salary than it sends out in a trade
- Using a trade exception created in a prior league year
- Sending cash in a trade
- Signing a buyout player whose pre-waiver salary was above the non-taxpayer mid-level
A team above the second apron loses all of the first list too, so in practice the second-apron cap is the harder of the two even though the line itself sits higher.
Room Under Hard Cap is the team’s distance to its own hard cap line, taken straight from the workbook’s apron space columns — the same basis every other apron figure on this site uses. A negative number means the team is above its hard cap and has to shed salary before it can complete another transaction.