The NBA trade deadline (Feb. 5) creates the illusion that the player is available. In reality, a small group of players holds real leverage: the ability to stop a deal before it ever reaches the league office.
That power comes in two forms: true no-trade clauses, which are exceedingly rare, and one-year veto rights, which quietly affect far more players than most fans realize.
Two NBA Players With an Absolute No-Trade Clause In Their Contract
A true no-trade clause is the strongest form of protection against a trade, a player can have. It gives the player final authority over any trade and requires explicit consent before a deal can be completed. The eligibility bar is high: at least eight years of NBA service, four seasons with the same team, and the clause must be negotiated into a new contract.
In the 2025–26 season, only two players meet that standard.
LeBron James negotiated a full no-trade clause into his 2024 contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, ensuring complete control over where he plays during the closing chapter of his career. Damian Lillard holds the league’s only other true no-trade clause after securing one in his current deal with the Portland Trail Blazers.
A year ago, Bradley Beal was also on this list, but he surrendered his clause as part of a buyout with the Phoenix Suns. Before last season, the last time multiple players held full no-trade clauses was 2017–18, when James, Dirk Nowitzki, and Carmelo Anthony each had one. That rarity underscores how reluctant teams are to cede that level of control.
No-Trade Clause Matters at the Trade Deadline
The significance of trade protection is best understood by contrast. Luka Dončić (who was in his seventh season) had no no-trade clause when Dallas moved him to the Los Angeles Lakers in one of the most stunning deadline deals in league history last year. He had no advance warning, no approval power, and no ability to shape the outcome.
Players with no-trade clauses or even one-year veto rights are insulated from that kind of disruption. Their teams must negotiate not only with trade partners, but with the player himself. That extra layer can stall deals or kill a trade entirely.
The 15 Players With One-Year Veto Power
Beyond James and Lillard, 15 players can still veto trades during the 2025–26 season, not through permanent clauses, but through one-year contract protections.
These players re-signed with their teams on one-year deals (or two-year deals with a second-year option), which grants them the right to approve or reject any trade for this season only. The group includes:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)
- Nicolas Batum ( Los Angeles Clippers)
- Collin Gillespie (Phoenix Suns)
- Joe Ingles (Minnesota Timberwolves)
- Quentin Grimes (Philadelphia 76ers)
- Aaron Holiday ( Houston Rockets)
- James Harden (Los Angeles Clippers)
- Jericho Sims ( Milwaukee Bucks)
- Kyle Lowry (Philadelphia 76ers)
- Gary Payton II (Golden State Warriors)
- Landry Shamet ( New York Knicks)
- Jae’Sean Tate ( Houston Rockets)
- Fred VanVleet (Houston Rockets)
- Cam Thomas (Brooklyn Nets)
- Moritz Wagner (Orlando Magic)
This veto power is not symbolic. Any trade involving these players requires their consent, and if they approve a deal, that approval carries over — they would still have to consent to any subsequent trade during the same season.
There is a trade-off, however. A player who waives this protection loses Bird or Early Bird rights at season’s end and is left with Non-Bird rights, limiting how much their new team can offer in free agency. That risk makes many players cautious about saying yes.
As the deadline approaches, these clauses quietly shape the market. Some players are untouchable by rule, others are movable only by agreement, and everyone else remains subject to the sudden, franchise-altering decisions that define deadline season in the NBA.
