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A major experiment will take place during this year’s NBA Summer League.
The NBA announced Thursday that the “free throw rule” will be used during Summer League events taking place this month in Salt Lake City, Northern California and Las Vegas.
The G League has used this rule since the 2019-20 season, which is intended to speed up play.
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Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks shoots a free throw during the game against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 13, 2026 at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. (Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images)
Any foul that would typically result in one, two or three free throws being awarded will instead result in a single free throw attempt. This attempt will be worth the same total number of points as the free throws it replaces.
The rule does not apply to the entire game, however. The standard rules for free throws – two shots for a two-shot foul, etc. – will be used during the last two minutes of the fourth quarter and during all overtime.
Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs shoots a free throw against the New York Knicks during Game 4 of the 2026 NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden on June 10, 2026 in New York. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) ((Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images))
It’s unclear whether the free throw rule will be applied to NBA games, but like the minor and independent leagues and Major League Baseball, Summer League has been a testing ground for possible rule changes.
Among those who started at these levels and eventually reached the NBA are the coach’s challenge, resetting the shot clock from 24 seconds to 14 seconds after offensive rebounds and the reward of a shot for a transition foul – that is, when a defender intentionally commits a foul to stop a transition opportunity for the opposition.
Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots a free throw during the first half of Game 4 against the New York Knicks in the second round of the NBA playoffs in Philadelphia on May 10, 2026. (Matt Slocum/AP)
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The G League also plays 10-minute quarters, something NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has openly defended. The league has already tested 11-minute quarters in a preseason game, while exhibition games before the “bubble” in 2020 used 10-minute quarters.
Summer League begins July 9.
