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NBA to Potentially Change Stat Ruling on End-of-Quarter Heave Shots

This could change the final few seconds of every quarter.

Tom Dierberger

Josh Giddey nails a half-court shot in the Bulls' 119-117 win over the Lakers on March 27.
Josh Giddey nails a half-court shot in the Bulls' 119-117 win over the Lakers on March 27. / Jeff Haynes/NBAE
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NBA players passing up a last-second heave at the end of a quarter just to preserve their field-goal percentage might become a thing of the past.

The NBA announced Saturday that an unsuccessful end-of-period "heave" will be recorded as a team missed field-goal attempt instead of an individual missed field-goal attempt during 2025 Summer League when three pieces of criteria are met:

  1. The missed field-goal attempt took place within the final three seconds of the first, second, or third quarters.
  2. The missed field-goal attempt was shot from beyond the outer edge of the center circle (approximately 36 feet from the basket).
  3. The play originated in the backcourt.

As the importance of three-point percentage has increased alongside the rise of the outside shot over the last 15 years in the NBA, there have been many cases of players passing up shots late in the first, second or third quarters to preserve their personal stats.

Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard told The Athletic in February that he despises that phenomenon.

“Soft mentally,” Pritchard said. “Worrying about a shooting percentage. It’s very weak. You care about your individual shooting percentage more than winning. That’s so soft.”

The G League tested this statistical tweak during the 2024-25 season. The NBA using it in Summer League appears that it favored the results.

The NBA did not note that it is considering implementing the statistical tweak for the regular season. But if all goes well in Summer League, don't be surprised if this gets put into place before the start of the 2025-26 campaign.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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