The NBA has instructed referees to penalise offensive players who push off defenders with their free arm, one of four areas of emphasis announced Tuesday for the coming season.
What is a push off?
An offensive player using the arm that is not handling the ball to make contact with a defender and create space, most commonly before a perimeter shot. Some jockeying between the two has always been legal and expected, which is why the league has issued a framework rather than a prohibition.
How will referees judge it?
Through four terms. A ball handler may use the off arm to feel an opponent or to firm up by gathering himself in front of a defender. An offensive foul should be called when that arm contacts the defender with force or is fully extended to create an advantage. The NBA push off rule turns on the distinction between the first pair and the second.
Is that distinction workable?
The league’s own referee development chief said it is the hardest part. He acknowledged that contact one official considers firming up another would consider forceful and illegal, and said the competition committee will meet more often early in the season specifically to review plays near that line. That is a candid admission that the standard will be applied inconsistently at first.
Why now?
Scoring. Teams averaged 115.6 points last season, the highest since 1969. The league has spent several years removing offensive actions that manufacture fouls, including stopping short to draw collisions, splaying legs on shot attempts and jumping sideways into defenders. This continues that programme, and an executive framed the aim as keeping the way the game presents favourable to players and fans.
Would the famous ones still be legal?
One of them, yes. By the league’s own account, Michael Jordan’s push off against Bryon Russell before the shot that won the 1998 Finals would not draw a foul under this standard, because he did not contact the body with noticeable force or fully extend his arm. That is a useful reference point, and the league offering it suggests awareness that the change would otherwise be read as outlawing an iconic moment.
What else changes?
Three further areas. Illegal contact by offensive players setting screens, including shoving. Illegal contact by defenders impeding movement off the ball, such as grabbing and holding. And straight line pathway plays, where both players moving toward the basket retain the right to a direct path and either can be penalised for bumping the other off it.
Who benefits from this?
Defenders, in principle. Rule changes over the past decade have overwhelmingly favoured offence, which is how scoring reached a 56 year high. Restricting an offensive tool without adding any defensive restriction moves in the other direction, though the off ball holding emphasis cuts against defenders in the same announcement.
What should be watched?
Foul counts in October. A new emphasis is typically called tightly for several weeks and then settles as players adjust and officials calibrate. Whether the NBA push off rule survives that settling in recognisable form is the real test, since emphases that prove unworkable tend to quietly fade.
