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Report: NBA moving forward with foul changes for non-basketball moves

Ned Dishman / National Basketball Association / Getty

The NBA plans to move ahead with new rules for the 2021-22 season that would eliminate foul calls on non-basketball moves by offensive players, sources told The Athletic's Shams Charania.

Implementation is pending final discussion and approval from the NBA's competition committee and board of governors.

The competition committee met earlier in June to explore rule changes that would prevent players from using unnatural shooting motions to draw fouls. In recent years, NBA players have increasingly leaped into defenders to initiate contact and create free-throw opportunities.

Moving forward, the NBA will train its officials to identify these prevalent techniques:

  • A shooter launching or leaning into a defender at an abnormal angle
  • A shooter kicking his leg at an abnormal angle
  • An offensive player abruptly veering off his path into a defender

In games, officials will determine whether these actions warrant no-calls or offensive fouls.

The changes could debut as early as the Las Vegas Summer League in August.

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