One free throw rule, embedded ball tech test set for summer league
ESPN • • sports
Key Points:
- The NBA will test two new features during this month's summer leagues in Northern California, Salt Lake City, and Las Vegas: the one free throw rule and a connected basketball with an embedded sensor.
- The one free throw rule awards a single free throw worth the total points of the usual free throws for fouls, applied until the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime when standard rules resume; this rule has been used in the NBA G League since 2019-20.
- The connected basketball contains a sensor to detect ball contact and will provide data to support future officiating decisions, such as last-touch out-of-bounds calls, without altering the ball's weight or feel.
- Both features were discussed at a recent NBA Competition Committee meeting, with the California Classic summer league kicking off the testing.
