The 2023 NBA draft class reached the stage every draft class is ultimately measured by: the second contract. Twenty-three first-round picks from that class became eligible for rookie-scale extensions this offseason, according to Hoops Rumors, and as of early August exactly one has signed.
That one is Victor Wembanyama, who agreed with the San Antonio Spurs on a five-year, $252MM maximum extension reported by ESPN on July 10. The other 22 remain unsigned with the regular season approaching.
The window is defined rather than open-ended. Hoops Rumors notes that the first day of the new league year, July 1, is the first day these players can agree to rookie-scale extensions, and the deadline runs through the day before the 2026/27 regular season begins. Any deal signed in that window may run up to five years, with the new money taking effect beginning in 2027/28.
The full eligible list
The 23 players Hoops Rumors identifies as eligible, with the teams listed alongside them: Anthony Black (Magic), Noah Clowney (Nets), Bilal Coulibaly (Wizards), Gradey Dick (Raptors), Keyonte George (Jazz), Jordan Hawkins (Pelicans), Scoot Henderson (Trail Blazers), Taylor Hendricks (Grizzlies), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Bucks), Dereck Lively II (Mavericks), Brandon Miller (Hornets), Kris Murray (Grizzlies), Brandin Podziemski (Warriors), Marcus Sasser (Mavericks), Brice Sensabaugh (Jazz), Ben Sheppard (Pacers), Julian Strawther (Nuggets), Amen Thompson (Rockets), Ausar Thompson (Pistons), Jarace Walker (Pacers), Cason Wallace (Thunder), Victor Wembanyama (Spurs, signed) and Cam Whitmore (Wizards).
Read that list against draft night 2023 and the churn is the first thing that registers. Several of these players are listed with a franchise other than the one that drafted them — Jaime Jaquez Jr. appears under Milwaukee, Taylor Hendricks and Kris Murray under Memphis, Marcus Sasser under Dallas, Cam Whitmore under Washington. Three seasons is long enough for a first-round pick to change hands before he ever reaches his second contract, and the extension list is where that becomes visible in one place.
Why almost nobody has signed yet
A quiet August is not evidence of a stalled market. Rookie-scale extension talks historically compress into the weeks immediately before the deadline, because both sides gain from waiting: the player has little to lose by letting the market develop, and the team would rather not commit early money it might deploy better elsewhere. The deadline, not the opening of the window, is what forces resolution.
The structural pressure is real, though. A player who does not sign is not merely postponing the conversation by a few weeks. He is pushing it into a different mechanism entirely, one where his own club is reacting to terms rather than setting them.
What the class is negotiating against
Wembanyama's deal is the reference point whether the other 22 like it or not. It established that the top of this class prices at the 25% maximum, and it did so on a five-year term with a player option in the final season. Every agent working a 2023-class extension now negotiates in a market where the class's best player has already set a number.
The cap backdrop matters as much as the comparables. The NBA set the 2026/27 salary cap at $164,961,000, a 6.7% rise on the prior season's $154,647,000, and projects roughly 5.5% growth into 2027/28 for a cap near $174MM. Because rookie-scale extensions are expressed as a percentage of the cap rather than a flat sum, a rising cap raises the ceiling on every deal in this class — which is precisely why a player who believes in his own trajectory has an argument for waiting.
For a draft class that arrived with a generational No. 1 pick and unusual depth behind him, the next two months are the real referendum. Wembanyama got his number. The other 22 have until opening night to find theirs.