What the New Heave Rule Means for the NBA

Earlier today, the NBA announced it would be implementing a “heave rule” to allow more end-of-quarter heaves from players. This small but significant rule change could signal a major shift in how the final quarters and games are played out. In short and simple terms, the NBA has made it so that whenever a player hoists up a deep, miracle shot at the end of a quarter, a deep shot being 36 or more feet from the hoop with the play starting in the back court, the shot won’t count towards a player’s shooting percentage and other statistics. Before this rule change, whenever a player would shoot a deep shot to beat the buzzer at the end of a quarter, the makes and more importantly, the misses, would count towards a player’s shooting percentage. Now, the shot will count as a team shot rather than an individual shot.

In previous years, many players would refrain from taking those miracle 40-plus-foot shots to protect their shooting percentage. After all, while these players want to win, they also want to keep their jobs, and the better their statistics. Last season, only four percent of shots taken from 36 feet or more in the final three seconds of the first three quarters of a game went in. Steph Curry led the shot makes, having made four of these shots, and Nikola Jokic came in right behind him with three.

With the “heave rule” now in place, players will have full freedom to let the miracle shots rain down at the end of each quarter. With many more of these shots now likely taking place, this should lead to more makes as well, and with more makes occurring, teams may find themselves down or up by more points than they should be. This could, for sure, affect the outcome of games in both positive and negative ways, but arguably most importantly, it will give the fans at the games and those watching on TV a good spectacle. After all, that’s what’s really important.