Over the years, the NBA has become increasingly willing to test new rules, just to see if anything can stick. By using the Summer League and the G League as guinea pigs, the bigwigs at the top can experiment with minor tweaks to how the game of basketball is played at the highest level.

The newest test rule is certainly an interesting one, although it’s not entirely out of the blue.

This year’s three summer league events (which began last week) are being used to try out the “one free throw” rule. The rule is exactly how it sounds. When a player is awarded a shooting foul — whether it be one, two, or three free throws — that player will only shoot one free throw worth the same total number of points as the free throws it replaces.

For example, if a player is fouled on a three-point shot that doesn’t go in, that player will attempt one free throw that is now worth three points. If he misses, too bad — that’s the only attempt.

The NBA is testing a new rule where you get 1 free throw no matter where you were fouled

In this case Ryan Conwell got 3 points for making 1 free throw since he was fouled shooting a three pic.twitter.com/YjWGiwFBBm

— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) July 4, 2026

This is actually a rule the NBA G League has used since the 2019-20 season. The goal is to improve game flow and speed up some of the slower aspects of the game. The one-free-throw rule applies for the entire game, except for the final two minutes of regulation and overtime, in which standard free-throw rules apply.

Using the one-free-throw rule in Summer League and G League games doesn’t necessarily mean this rule change is coming to the NBA anytime soon, but it’s notable that the league continues to push for it at the lower levels. Recent rule changes such as coaches’ challenges, transition take fouls, and end-of-quarter heaves started at the Summer League or G League level before being implemented in the NBA.

As expected, fans online are not eager to embrace the change. And they might have a point. The possibility of earning two or three points off a single free throw could open up a massive can of worms when it comes to foul-baiting. And how much time would this rule really save on a game-by-game basis, especially in a league that already has a replay review issue? But it’s been working in the G League for several seasons now. The NBA might be more serious about this than we think.