NBA summer league games might end a few minutes earlier than usual this year.
The NBA announced Thursday that the “one free throw rule” will be used at the summer leagues happening this month in Las Vegas, Northern California, and Salt Lake City.
The rule — designed to speed up play — means any foul that would typically result in the awarding of one, two or three free throws will instead result in a single foul shot. That attempt will be worth the same total number of points as the free throws it replaces.
The developmental G League has used this rule since 2019-20.
The rule doesn’t apply to the entire game. Standard free-throw rules — two shots for a two-shot foul, etc. — will be utilized for the last two minutes of fourth quarters and in all of overtime.
It’s unclear if the one-free-throw rule will make it into regular NBA games, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
The G League and summer leagues have been used many times in recent years as testing labs for the NBA before bringing rule changes or amended policies into its games. Among those that started at those levels and eventually got to the NBA: the coaches’ challenge, resetting the 24-second shot clock to 14 seconds in offensive rebound situations, and the one-shot award for a transition take foul — which is when a defender intentionally commits a foul to halt a transition opportunity for the opposition.
The league also revealed Thursday that the “connected basketball” will be part of its summer leagues.
The ball used this summer will have “an embedded sensor that detects contact with the ball,” the league said in a release.
It isn’t noticeable and doesn’t change the way the ball feels and plays, and the weight difference is minute at best.
The reason behind it: Collecting data to “support future officiating applications, such as last-touch out-of-bounds calls,” the league said.
Summer League play began Friday with the start of the California Classic, which will be hosted by the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings with games through Monday. The Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs will play in San Francisco; a second Golden State team, plus the, Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks will play in Sacramento.
Salt Lake City’s league — featuring the host Utah Jaz plus the Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder — will have games Saturday, Monday and Tuesday. No. 2 draft pick Darryn Peterson of the Jazz and No. 3 pick Cameron Boozer of Memphis are on the rosters for that event.
And the official NBA summer league, with all 30 teams playing at least five games, is set for July 9-19 in Las Vegas. No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa is scheduled to make his summer debut on the first day of action, when his Washington Wizards take on the Jazz, setting up a possible No. 1 versus No. 2 pick matchup if Peterson plays in that game.