Overview

• Under the new guidance, a miss taken from at least 36 feet in the final three seconds of the first three quarters on a play that begins in the backcourt is logged as a team field-goal attempt, not an individual miss.
• Made desperation shots still count for the shooter, and the policy takes effect for the 2025–26 season after approval by the Board of Governors and support from the Competition Committee.
• The league piloted the approach in July in Las Vegas Summer League and smaller circuits in Utah and California before adopting it for the regular season.
• SportRadar data show roughly a 4% make rate on such attempts last season, with Stephen Curry making four and Nikola Jokić three under the qualifying criteria.
• Reaction split quickly, with former player Richard Jefferson calling the move “cowardly” and analyst Zach Lowe criticizing it, as the Board also approved NBA Cup semifinal games at higher seeds’ home arenas starting in 2026–27 and a coach’s-challenge tweak assigning proximate-foul decisions to the replay center on out-of-bounds reviews.