A little over two months ago, we learned that the league was going to think about limiting the impact of “foul-makers”, Trae Young in the lead, that is to say the players who trap the defenders to recover free throws.
We now know, thanks to The Athletic, that the NBA will be implementing new rules, which have yet to be approved by the competition committee, in charge of the rules, and the owners next season.
The referees will thus have to better appreciate the situations where the attackers try to obtain a whistle by causing contact with the defender. There are three: the one where the shooter throws or leans towards the defender, the one where the shooter throws his leg, and finally the one where the player suddenly changes direction towards the defender.
The notion of “abnormal” angle
If the referees judge, in one of these configurations, that the angle of the attacker is “abnormal”, then they can whistle an offensive fault or let the play proceed without intervening (a “no-call”). The league would like to sanction players who lean forward, to create contact with the defender, for an offensive foul. On the other hand, when the contact is on the side or in the back, it should be allowed to play.
The first application of these new rules, which were also mentioned in front of the 30 GM of the league this week during the Draft Combine, could occur this summer, during the Summer League.
There is no doubt, however, that from next season, attackers, defenders and men in gray will not always have the same definition of an “abnormal angle” …
