The NBA is set to implement a new rule during the 2025-26 season that will allow players to attempt end-of-quarter shots from long distances without impacting individual statistics.
The league announced that beginning this season, shots taken from beyond half court as time expires in a quarter will impact only the team’s score and shooting percentage, rather than the individual player’s shooting percentage.
The change, informally known as the “heave rule,” aims to encourage more attempts at buzzer-beating shots without penalizing player statistics.
“For stat-keeping purposes, the NBA will tell teams that any shot taken within the final three seconds of the first three quarters and is launched from at least 36 feet away on any play that starts in the backcourt will count as a team shot attempt — but not an individual one,” wrote the NBA in a release about the change.
“Many players have avoided taking the miracle 50-footer or deeper shot at the end of quarters to protect their personal shooting percentages. The ‘heave rule,’ the league hopes, will fix that.”
Although many have applauded the change as a way to improve the end of quarters, former NBA player Richard Jefferson has called out the league for rewarding players who focus on statistics.
“This is cowardly! We don’t want it to count towards your %…… UNLESS YOU MAKE IT. You want the positive without the potential for negative. PROFESSIONAL SPORTS 2025,” he wrote on social media.
Coincidentally, this change will actually help the player who took the most “heaves” to end quarters last season.
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic attempted the most long-distance shots to end a quarter last season, with his 22 attempts being significantly larger than the 12 attempts taken by New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges.
Despite taking the most attempts in the league, Jokic still managed to make 41.7% of his three-point attempts.
Had this rule been implemented last season, Jokic would have seen his three-point percentage increase drastically to 44.7%.
Moving forward, this rule should help bring excitement to the end of quarters while also potentially helping NBA players to slightly improve their three-point percentage.