The NBA has introduced a new “heave rule” to encourage players to take long-range shots at the end of quarters, and The Ringer’s Zach Lowe isn’t a fan of the decision. Lowe called out the NBA for catering to players who care too much about their shooting percentage on the latest episode of The Zach Lowe Show.
“Heaves at the end of quarters are going to count as team field goal attempts instead of individual field goal attempts,” Lowe said. “I hate it. I hate it. We’re letting these chickens*** players who won’t shoot heaves because they’re afraid of a 0.001 reduction in their field goal percentage get off scot-free.
“Now they’re going to be able to shoot heaves,” Lowe continued. “I liked exposing those players and I liked lionizing the Steph Currys, the Nikola Jokics, 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 2 percent chance this crazy shot is going to go in or I’ll get fouled or something, I’m taking it.’
“Forget about the guys who [are like], ‘Oh, I dribble. Oh, I just shot it right after the buzzer. Did I trick anyone into thinking that I just lost track of time?'” Lowe added. “I hate it. Boo NBA, boo chicken players.”
This is indeed disappointing. The fact that the NBA is changing what is counted as a shot for a player, just because a certain section cares too much about their shooting percentage, is not a good look. Here is what the rule exactly states.
“The NBA will tell teams that any shot taken within the final three seconds of the first three quarters and is launched from at least 36 feet away on any play that starts in the backcourt will count as a team shot attempt — but not an individual one.”
Lowe isn’t alone in not liking this rule. Former NBA player Richard Jefferson took to X to express his displeasure.
“This is cowardly! We don’t want it to count towards your %…… UNLESS YOU MAKE IT. You want the positive without the potential for negative. PROFESSIONAL SPORTS 2025.”
While the NBA came up with an unpopular solution here, it’s the players who avoid taking these shots who need to take a long, hard look at themselves. If three-time MVP Nikola Jokic can attempt 22 heaves in the 2024-25 season, then no one else has an excuse for not taking them.
One of the biggest culprits, perhaps, is new Houston Rockets superstar Kevin Durant. NBA analyst Justin Termine called out Durant on X for being more concerned about his percentages than helping his team win, as he has not taken a heave since 2018. The 15-time All-Star unsurprisingly didn’t take that comment too well.
“We get it, we get it. You love European players over American born players….enjoy the heaves my boy, I probably still won’t take em.”
When asked why he hadn’t taken those shots, Durant had an interesting explanation.
“It’s a Low percentage shot, I take enough bad shots throughout a game. If we are down and I need to heave a shot to have a chance, I’ll let it go. Most of the time that hasn’t been the case.”
It’s hard to believe that has never been the case in all these years. It will be interesting to see if Durant does finally attempt these heaves from next season. If he does, you better believe he’ll be called out for it, even though it’d be the right thing to do.
