How it works

Points come from playing — only on the day you play. Yesterday's puzzles are gone; there is no backfilling last week. Showing up every day is the whole game.

Spending points on boosts never touches your leaderboard — it only counts what you earned.

Points buy boosts on your player card. Ratings decide how hard your player carries in career matches — a better card scores more, defends better, wins more. Boosts are cheap through the 60s, cost real points through the 70s and early 80s, superstar prices from 85, and legend prices in the 90s. Your primary class trains its two stats 20% off, your secondary 10%.

Weekly missions pay free attribute points: three drop every Monday, each themed to a stat — finish one and claim the boost on your card or the career hub.

The class ladder beside your boosts hands out titles for your build. Each tier asks you to raise its two signature ratings, then prove it in a match — a big game inside your last handful. Claim it for the flair: bragging rights, not a stat boost.

Your position and classes lock the moment you spend points on a boost — the class discount is what a re-pick could game. Free mission points don't lock anything, so claim away. Every ring your career wins lives on the card forever.

Go to My Player →

Your signed four fill out the rotation around you. Keep them developed and keep showing up — a deeper, in-form roster wins more.

Your franchise plays a real 82-game NBA season against all 30 teams — two matches a day, at 00:00 and 16:00 UTC (8pm and noon ET). Each match plays out live over two hours, quarter by quarter, with play-by-play. Miss it and the box score is waiting.

Finish top 8 in your conference and you're in the playoffs: best-of-7 rounds all the way to the NBA Finals. Win it all and a championship banner hangs on your franchise — and a ring goes on every card that suited up.

When the season ends — champion, eliminated, or lottery-bound — the next one tips off after midnight UTC. Same franchise, fresh 82. Ratings carry over; the history stays on your record.

Go to Career →

You're the franchise player, so management listens to you. Pick your starting five on the team page — coverage matters, so a lineup that fills all five positions plays bigger than raw ratings alone. Spend points to train any teammate's skills; signature stats train cheaper.

Bench a good teammate too long and he gets restless — first a warning, then he walks. Don't like someone? Complain to upper management: pay a small fee, and a few days later they quietly “part ways” with him. Deniable. And every so often management finds a prospect who wants in — sign him and pick who makes way, or pass. Want the search to be less random? Send the scouts after a specific class — a report with two candidates lands a few days later.

Every teammate is on a contract — his “signed through” season shows on his card. When a deal is up entering a season, you get a decision window: re-sign him or he walks — and if you ignore it, he walks anyway. Watch the red countdown on the hub.

It all lands in your front-office news feed on the career hub: signings, walkouts, cuts, and the occasional surprise.

Somewhere out there is a player the league already knows. You get one per career — pick your target on the recruitment page and his front office starts watching. You can switch targets once a day until you commit.

They don't take calls from nobodies. Every target carries a checklist, and the bar scales with who he is — chasing a star means 85 overall, 30 wins, a head-to-head win over his team, and 4,000 points banked. Starters and role players ask for less. The bars fill as you play; there's nothing to claim.

Clear the checklist and the package builder opens: offer one or two of your own guys plus points, and management rules on whether it clears their asking price. A rejection comes back with what was missing — and their price is re-drawn every week, so the same package can land seven days later.

Career Mode is a simulated universe. Trades, matches, and box scores here are fictional and live only in your league; ratings are airball's own assessment.

Add friends on the friends page — by username or a share link. Then hit Add a friend on any roster spot: every friend shows up with the one right move — a free agent gets an in-app invite (they accept from their career hub), a friend on another roster gets a poach offer. Their live card drives the slot: the more they play and boost, the better your team; ghost the app and they're cold on your bench.

Moonlighting pays: a friend earns a cut every match their card suits up — win or loss, just a bigger cut on a win. You can ride up to two benches on top of your own franchise — quit one to take a better offer. Friends sign through the current season; re-sign them cheap or they hit free agency.

Flip on “open to offers” to auto-accept any offer that comes for you. And beware: a friend on your bench can quietly tank your games for a stretch. You won't know until the front office finds out — but once caught, they wear a snake tag everywhere, forever.