The NBA announced major rules changes ahead of the 2025-26 season.
This is great news for NBA fans who love quarter-ending heave shots of their favorite basketball superstars. Previously, shot attempts were counted against the field goal percentage of individual players.
However, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has approved the change to the rules. Currently, the heaves in the last two seconds are attributed to the team’s field goal percentage.
So I encourage the stars to take more of those funny shots. However, NBA analyst Zach Lowe is not a fan of rules changes.
Most NBA players are usually hesitant to try a final second shot to protect the percentage of field goals, as it can have a negative financial impact due to certain clauses in the contract.
But now, once the rules change, all NBA players can try the final 2 seconds of heave without any consequences, and Lowe hates this.
“I hate it, I hate it. We’re off the Scotland free to these chicken S___ players who don’t shoot because they’re afraid of a .001 reduction in their field goal percentage.
“Yeah, now they can shoot the Heave,” Lowe told the Linger Podcast.
Lowe gave a great point as many NBA fans loved calling out players who avoided taking such shots.
But even before the rules changed, there were a handful of stars who didn’t care about field goal percentages.
Yes, Stephen Curry and Nikola Djokic like that weren’t hesitant to take the final second shot when their teams tried to win the game.
“I liked exposing those players, and I liked lionizing Steph Curry, Nicola Jokic, JR Smith and Payton Pritchard that day.
“For those who say, ‘No way, I want to win the game,’ if you have 2% of the shots, then this crazy shot comes in, or I’m going to be a foul or something, I’m taking that,” Lowe said.
The veteran NBA analyst also called out the league and the players he had previously exposed.
“Oh, dribbling. Ah, I just shoot right after the buzzer. Did you make me think that I just lost my way of time?” I hate that.
Again, while Lowe’s point is fair, with the grand plan of things, changes in rules lead to more entertainment for NBA fans.
Therefore, the league is unlikely to receive much criticism for its decision.