The NBA has announced a major rule change ahead of the 2025-26 season.
This is great news for NBA fans who love end-of-quarter heave shots from their favorite basketball superstars. Previously, the shot attempts were counted towards an individual player’s field goal percentage.
However, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has approved a change to the rule. Now, last-second heaves will be attributed to the team’s field goal percentage.
So, encourage the stars to take more of those entertaining shots. However, NBA analyst Zach Lowe is not a fan of the rule change.
Zach Lowe ‘hates’ the NBA rule change
Most NBA players usually hesitate to attempt last-second shots to protect their field goal percentage, as it can have negative financial implications due to certain clauses in contracts.
But now with the rule change, every NBA player will be able to attempt last-second heaves without any consequences, and Lowe ‘hates’ this.
“I hate it, I hate it, we’re letting these chicken s___ players who won’t shoot heaves because they’re afraid of a .001 reduction in their field goal percentage get off scot-free.
“Oh, now, they’re going to be able to shoot heaves,” Lowe said on The Ringer podcast.
Lowe made an excellent point, as many NBA fans loved calling out players who avoided taking such shots.
But even before the rule change, there were a handful of stars who didn’t care about their field goal percentages.
Zach Lowe feels bad for Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic
Yes, the likes of Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic never hesitated to take last-second shots if it gave their respective teams a shot at winning the game.
“I liked exposing those players, and I liked lionizing the Steph Curry’s, the Nikola Jokic’s, J.R. Smith back in the day, Payton Pritchard.
“The guys who are like, ‘No way, I want to win the game. And if there’s a two percent shot, this crazy shot is going to go in, or I’ll get fouled or something, I’m taking it,’” Lowe stated.
The veteran NBA analyst further called out the league and the players that he loved exposing in the past.
“Forget about the guys who, ‘Oh, I dribble. Oh, I just shoot it right after the buzzer. Did I trick anyone into thinking that I just lost track of time?’ I hate it. Boo, NBA. Boo, chicken players,” he concluded.
Once again, Lowe’s point is fair, but in the grand scheme of things, the rule change will lead to more entertainment for NBA fans.
So it’s unlikely that the league will receive any major criticism for its decision.
