Loading
Pick 5 starters under the $140M salary cap
The Dream Roster Builder puts you in the general manager's seat. With a $140.0M salary cap mirroring the real NBA, you must make strategic choices about which players to include on your starting five. Every player's salary is calculated from their actual stats: points, rebounds, and assists per game are weighted to create realistic valuations. Star players like Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic command premium salaries, so you cannot simply stack the five best players. You need to find the right balance of talent and value.
The NBA salary cap is one of the most important concepts in professional basketball. Teams must balance their desire for star talent against the financial constraints of the cap. In our simulator, salaries are derived from the formula: (PPG x 1.5 + RPG x 1.2 + APG x 1.5) x $1M. This means a player averaging 30 PPG, 10 RPG, and 8 APG would earn approximately $69M. Finding undervalued players, those with solid all-around stats at lower price points, is the key to building a championship-caliber roster under the cap. Explore player stats to identify hidden gems.
Your team receives a rating from 0 to 100 based on combined scoring, rebounding, passing, and shooting efficiency. Ratings above 90 earn an S+ grade, indicating a truly elite roster. The challenge is reaching the highest rating while staying under the cap. Compare your player combinations to optimize your picks. Share your roster link with friends to see who can build the highest-rated team.
Each player's salary is computed from their current-season stats using the formula: (PPG x 1.5 + RPG x 1.2 + APG x 1.5) x $1,000,000. This creates a realistic distribution where top scorers and playmakers command the highest salaries, while role players are more affordable.
The salary cap is set at $140.0M, close to the real NBA salary cap. Your five-player roster's combined salaries cannot exceed this amount. The cap bar at the top of the roster panel shows your current spending and remaining budget in real time.
Yes. Click the "Share Team" button to copy a unique URL to your clipboard. The URL encodes your exact roster picks, so anyone who opens it will see your starting five, combined stats, and team rating.
There are two reasons a player might be unavailable: either your roster is already full (5 players), or adding that player would push your total salary over the $140.0M cap. Remove a player to free up a slot and cap space, then try again.
Your roster is automatically saved to your browser's local storage. It persists across page visits and browser sessions. Use the Clear button to reset and start building a new team.