The NBA's 2025 free agent class was once billed as historic.
Jayson Tatum, Jimmy Butler III, Donovan Mitchell, Lauri Markkanen, Jalen Brunson, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Jamal Murray, Rudy Gobert, Aaron Gordon, Derrick White and Brandon Ingram, among other stars, were expected to become free agents this offseason.
Instead, changes to extension rules in the 2017 and 2023 collective bargaining agreements have incentivized each of those 12 players to not enter free agency, taking guaranteed money one year early.