2016 Cavs champ calls out NBA for ‘cowardly’ rule change

The NBA has made a rule change with the hope that it will encourage more players to attempt end-of-quarter heaves.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, a missed heave at the end of a period will now be recorded as a missed shot for the team rather than the player who attempted it. That way, players’ shooting percentages won’t be negatively impacted by misfiring on a hail mary.

A member of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ championship team back in 2016 doesn’t seem to be a fan of this rule change at all, however. Retired forward Richard Jefferson referred to the rule change as “cowardly.”

Plenty of NBA players have simply dribbled the ball out at the end of quarters in recent years (or waited until after the buzzer to shoot) instead of attempting lengthy heaves, but maybe folks will see a change in habit in the coming season. One current player who consistently let it fly at the end of quarters, even before the new rule was established, was Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard.

He drilled a shot from beyond half-court in Boston’s closeout Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, which marked one of the deepest made shots in NBA Finals history.

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has also spoken about how Pritchard will never pass up a heave because he cares more about winning than his shooting percentages.

Fans of the Cavaliers might be hoping that the rule change will result in the team both taking and making end-of-quarter heaves at a greater rate in the 2025-26 campaign. Cleveland’s players taking shots at the end of quarters no matter where they are on the court will help to ensure that the Cavaliers maximize all of their opportunities at points.

It’s easy to see where Jefferson is coming from by calling the rule change cowardly, but the move also seems to be in the best interest of the fans and keeping them entertained throughout all 48 minutes of action. Maybe Jefferson will warm up to the rule change in due time.