The NBA off-season has already become infamous for its many roster changes.
Now, it looks like they are about to change the game itself.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA’s Board of Governors are looking to explore and approve rule changes for the 2018-2019 season. This changes would include resetting the shot clock to 14 after an offensive rebound and instant replays concerning “hostile acts”.
Wojnarowski reports that the NBA’s Competition Committee suggests shortening the shot clock to 14 seconds when it resets after an offensive rebound, instead of resetting to 24 seconds. This is in hopes to increase shot attempts, affect late-game strategies by both teams, and eliminate teams from chewing up large portions of time.
FIBA, as well as the WNBA, have found success in this rule change. In addition, the NBA experimented with the 14-second reset in the G-League this past season, as well as in the summer league.
The NBA will also seek to simplify its clear path rule, which would come into play if a personal foul is committed on any offensive player while attempting to score in transition. If the ball is ahead of the tip of the circle in the backcourt and no defensive player is ahead of the offensive player with the scoring opportunity, and that offensive player is in control of the ball or a pass to him has been released.
The team will be awarded two free throw attempts and possession on the sideline closest to where the foul happened in the event of a clear path foul.
Lastly, the NBA looks to expand their ruling of “hostile acts”.
The league currently describes “hostile acts” as something “that is not part of normal basketball play”, such as “when a player intentionally or recklessly harms or attempts to harm another player with a punch, elbow, kick or blow to the head.” However, instead of just making this rule reviewable for only player-to-player interaction, the rule change will expand so that officials can review player interactions with coaches, referees, and fans.
The Board of Governors will meet on Sept. 20-21 to discuss the potential changes. The measures will need two-thirds of the team’s approval to pass.
