The new rule with which the NBA bows to statistics, Fantasy, and players

The NBA will introduce a statistical novelty starting from the 2025-26 season that aims to change the perception of long-range shots at the end of quarters. From then on, missed attempts of those desperate shots at the conclusion of periods will not be attributed to the individual player's count but to the team's collective record.

In other words, the league essentially makes it very clear: fantasy games are very important for the business and directly impact what players do on the court. It distorts reality. It's incredible. It's Adam Silver once again complying. Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic, among the few who have recently found success with this type of shots.

The measure was approved at the Wednesday meeting of the Board of Governors, after months of analysis by the league's competition committee. The goal is to encourage players to execute more long-distance shots without fear that their personal shooting percentages will be affected.

Until now, many professionals avoided trying their luck with those shots from beyond half-court to protect their individual statistics. With the new regulation, popularly known as the "heave rule," the NBA is confident that this conditioning will decrease and there will be more spectacular attempts at the end of quarters.

The rule states that, for statistical purposes, any shot taken within the last three seconds of the first three quarters, initiated from the defensive half-court and executed at a minimum distance of 36 feet (about 11 meters), will be counted as a team shot and not an individual player's shot. In other words, the miss will not affect the personal shooting sheet of the executor, although it will add to the collective count.

The league already tested this modification during the July Summer League, and the results convinced executives, coaches, and players alike. With the official implementation, it is expected that the number of attempts at impossible baskets will increase, adding excitement to the final moments of each quarter.

According to SportRadar data, in the past season only 4% of these shots, meeting the distance and time criteria, ended in success. The Golden State Warriors, with Stephen Curry as a reference, and the Denver Nuggets, with Nikola Jokic, were among the teams that had the most success in this aspect. Curry made four baskets under these parameters, and Jokic converted three.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La nueva regla con la que la NBA se pliega a las estadísticas, los Fantasy y los jugadores