NBA changes crucial rule: A revolution for guaranteed entertainment and player protection

The NBA is taking a new step in its quest for entertainment. Starting from the 2025-2026 regular season, the American league is modifying its statistical rules to encourage bold end-of-quarter shots. This measure, called « heave rule », aims to eliminate players’ reluctance to attempt « prayers » at the buzzer for fear of damaging their shooting percentages.

The NBA will implement a new change for the 2025-26 season: unsuccessful end-of-period heaves will now be recorded as a missed field-goal attempt for the team, not the player, sources tell ESPN. Those long heaves will no longer impact an individual player’s percentages.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 10, 2025

According to information reported by Shams Charania, long-distance shots missed in the last three seconds of the first three quarters will now count as a missed shot for the team, but not for the individual player. If successful, nothing changes: the basket remains credited to the shooter.

Strict criteria to prevent abuse

For a shot to be classified as a « heave » according to criteria defined by NBA, several conditions must be met. The shot must be launched in the last 3 seconds of the first, second, or third quarter, come from the defensive zone or a very short part of the offensive zone, and be taken at least 36 feet from the rim, approximately 11 meters.

This modification, tested during the 2024-2025 season in G-League and then applied in Summer League, addresses a very real statistical issue. According to SportRadar, the overall accuracy percentage of these very long-distance shots taken at the very end of periods is only 4%. Last season, only 12 attempts found the net, with Stephen Curry leading (4 successful) followed by Nikola Jokic (3 successful).

In a context where individual statistics are becoming increasingly important, particularly for triggering certain contract bonuses, players could be hesitant to attempt these desperate shots. The NBA hopes to generate more spectacular actions for its highlights while preserving the integrity of individual statistics.

This regulatory evolution is part of the league’s overall strategy to maximize entertainment, now encouraging players to take calculated risks without fearing the statistical consequences of their failures.