Fans of the deep ball are in luck, because thanks to a new NBA rule change, players can now fire off end-of-quarter miracle heaves from downtown without the worry of negatively affecting their shooting percentages. Instead, any unsuccessful, time-expiring Hail Mary will be recorded as a missed field goal for the team. 

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The move comes after NBA commissioner Adam Silver and the league’s board of governors finalized their approval of the rule change during a meeting Wednesday. 

Per the National Basketball Association, the NBA first experimented with the proposed rule change in July during the Summer League in Las Vegas, as well as in additional G-League games in California and Utah that month. With the NBA coming to NBC and Peacock this season, let’s take a closer look at the new rule.

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What’s the NBA’s official new ‘Heave Rule’ change?

Starting with the upcoming 2025/26 NBA Season, league brass have informed teams that, as long as a shot’s launched from a minimum of 36 feet away from the hoop and attempted within the final three seconds of the first three quarters of a game, those takes will officially only count as a team shot attempt and not a personal one. The only caveat is that the play must start in the backcourt. 

Why did the NBA change the ‘Heave Rule’?

Like the NFL, the NBA continues to try to corral new audience demographics by experimenting with innovative concepts. No stranger to test runs, the league previously tinkered with the format and rules of many an All-Star Game to find the winning recipe, and continues to do so. The inception of the heave rule is similar. Meant to increase dynamic play-making potential as the clock winds down in those final moments of the first three quarters, NBA commissioner Adam Silver and league executives want to generate more excitement, and implementing the new “heave rule” change should entice a myriad of different players to chuck the rock from a far.

In an era where player contracts are skyrocketing, NBA ballers not named Steph Curry or Nikola Jokić have been reluctant to fling it from downtown because of the punitive affect it would have on their individual player stats. According to SportRadar, players whose attempted shots fit the “heave” criteria converted only 4% of the time last season. 

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Other than Curry and Jokić, one player we know we’ll see let it rip from downtown in those crucial time-expiring moments is Payton Pritchard of the Boston Celtics. As fearless on the hardwoods as they come, the Oregon native, who has a propensity to go long, ignited TD Garden by draining a pair of half-court buzzer-beaters against the Dallas Mavericks during the 2024 NBA Finals.  

“I live for those moments, clock winding down and six seconds left, get to a spot and raise [up for the jumper],” said Pritchard of a deep buzzer-beater he nailed against the Milwaukee Bucks 10 months ago. “I kind of black out in those moments and just let it fly. And obviously it works out a lot of the time. …It’s a gut punch when you do hit them. The momentum swings are crazy.”  

For Silver and NBA brass, that’s music to their ears. 

Get ready for the best hoop action around as the NBA officially returns to NBC and Peacock on Tuesday, October 21, with an epic season-opening double-header. The Oklahoma City Thunder will host the Houston Rockets at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by the Golden State Warriors visiting the Los Angeles Lakers for the nightcap at 10 p.m. ET.