Former Champion Blasts NBA’s ‘Cowardly’ New Rule Change That Will Have Massive Impact on Shooting Efficiency

The NBA has made several rule changes over the past few years. Not too long ago, they implemented the take-foul rule to prevent teams from interrupting the flow of the game, as teams had been intentionally fouling players to prevent fast breaks.

Yesterday, the NBA did it again by implementing a rule change prohibiting players’ field goal percentages from being affected by end-of-quarter heaves if said heaves are missed. Everyone did not unanimously agree with this change.

What Did Richard Jefferson Say About the NBA Over Rule Change?

Former NBA Champion Richard Jefferson criticized the league for implementing this rule change after ESPN’s Shams Charania announced it.

“This is cowardly! We don’t want it to count towards your %…… UNLESS YOU MAKE IT. You want the positive without the potential for negative. PROFESSIONAL SPORTS 2025,” Jefferson wrote via his X account.

This is cowardly! We don’t want it to count towards your %…… UNLESS YOU MAKE IT. You want the positive without the potential for negative. PROFESSIONAL SPORTS 2025 https://t.co/frIJ7SBJuh

— Richard Jefferson (@Rjeff24) September 11, 2025

Jefferson won a title with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and competed for the titles with the then-New Jersey Nets in 2002 and 2003 and again with the Cavaliers in 2017.

On the one hand, this rule change arguably favors the players too unfairly. It makes the product a little dishonest, and that can rub players like Jefferson the wrong way because he never had that back when he played.

However, both NBA teams and players have gotten smarter about exploiting loopholes. The take-foul rule was implemented because teams realized that taking the foul was better than letting any fastbreak points happen. Because it made the product less fun to watch, the NBA had to put a stop to it.

When players sign their contracts, they must consider how their performance affects their contract status. If their field goal percentage looks worse than it should on account of missing buzzer-beating heaves, they will refuse to take them. Their field goal percentage could be a clause in their contract or it could affect whether the league sees them as an All-Star, so they have a justifiable reason not to shoot them.

Like with fastbreaks, buzzer-beating heaves are part of the fun, so the league had to ensure that the product remains fun to watch from start to finish for every quarter. It may be weak, and Jefferson’s complaints are valid, but the NBA simply wants fans to enjoy the product. It’s not like buzzer-beater heaves are the most crucial ingredient of the NBA, but fans want to see them, so to see players refuse to take them is not a good look.

The biggest takeaway here is that the NBA is making the effort to make the game as entertaining as possible, whether alumni like Richard Jefferson like it or not.