A half-court heave can be the most exciting play in basketball. The unexpected thrill of a prayer finding the bottom of the net is a rare one. It’s even more rare because NBA players aren’t usually interested in even trying to make these shots, because they don’t want to ruin their shooting percentages.
One of the lone exceptions is Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard, who may be responsible for the NBA’s newest experiment in its rule-change lab. The league announced Monday that they will be implementing a change in the way that end-of-period “heaves” will be recorded this season in the G-League.
End of Period “Heaves”: Certain unsuccessful end-of-period “heaves” will be adjusted from an individual player’s missed field goal attempt to a team field goal attempt when the following criteria are met: 1) the missed field goal attempt takes place within the final three seconds of the first three periods of the game, 2) the missed field goal attempt must take place from beyond the outer edge of the center circle extended (i.e., approximately 36 feet from the basket) as shown here, 3) the play must originate in the backcourt.
If a field goal attempt meets the above criteria, and the shot is made, then the player will be credited with a standard made field goal attempt. The team field goal attempts will not be tied to the individual player on the final box score. If a field goal attempt meets the above criteria, but the shot is blocked by a defender, the attempt will count as a team field goal attempt, and the defender will be credited with a blocked shot. Any associated rebounds after such blocked shot will still be credited to an individual player, as needed.
For years, fans have been clamoring for a change like this to be made in order to encourage players to fire up more of these long-range buzzer beaters.
Throughout Boston’s run to their 18th NBA championship, Pritchard reminded fans, and likely league executives, how exciting a heave is when it finds the bottom of the net. On (at least) three occasions, his prayers were answered and the home crowd went into a frenzy.
Pritchard’s heaves couldn’t have come at a better time for the buzzer-beater truthers. With the NBA having its largest audience of the year watching, the excitement surrounding these shots was resounding. The clips went viral on social media, garnering more and more attention to the game. Of course, the league is going to want more of these moments.
Who wouldn’t?
(Luka probably didn’t love it, tbh.)
