There will be one difference at this year’s NBA Summer League in Las Vegas compared to previous years.
The annual event has become the center for the new generation of NBA players to get their first taste of the league, and for the NBA to test out new rules.
This year’s games could be a bit shorter with the new “one free throw rule,” where players will have a single free throw attempt for all foul calls. The amount of points each free throw will be worth one, two or three points — depending on the foul — in an effort to speed up the game.
The 21st Las Vegas NBA Summer League begins Thursday with seven games between the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion at UNLV. Thursday’s games begin with the Minnesota Timberwolves and New Orleans Pelicans at 12:30 p.m. at Cox Pavilion.
Highlighting Thursday’s action is a showdown between the two top overall picks in last month’s NBA draft. No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa and the Washington Wizards face off against second-overall pick Darryn Peterson and the Utah Jazz at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center.
‘Springboards to see what will work’
The one free throw rule has been in effect in the G-League since the 2019-20 season. The rule was also implemented at the Salt Lake and Northern California Summer Leagues, which were played earlier this month.
However, the Summer League games will go back to standard NBA free throw rules during the last two minutes of regulation and the duration of any overtime periods.
Also at this year’s NBA Summer League, the league will use a “connected basketball” which contains sensors that detect when the ball has been touched.
The league’s communications department said in the announcement that: “The basketball contains an embedded sensor that detects contact with the ball. The sensor does not materially affect the ball’s weight, feel or playability. Data collected from the ball will support future officiating applications, such as last-touch out-of-bounds calls.”
NBA Summer League co-founder Albert Hall said the Summer League has embraced being the testing ground for any new rules that aim to improve the game.
“It’s really one of those springboards to see what will work and what won’t work,” Hall said. “We’ve tried a lot of things, and not all of them have stuck and carried over, but it’s important, because this is the one showcase in the summertime where (we can see) how do we make the game better.
“If we can make the game better here, it translates because we’re dealing with NBA referees, NBA players, just the whole NBA atmosphere and NBA experience. We’re that model that is close to NBA action you could possibly get to see if things really work.”
Summer League rules in NBA
The Summer League has been a breeding ground for new, experimental rules. Many have made their way into the NBA.
One of the most significant rule implementations from the Summer League is the coaches challenges. The NBA added coaches challenges to the 2018 Summer League, and the league brought the challenges into the league for the 2019-20 season.
Other rules that have been experimented at Summer League and later added to the NBA include the 24-second shot clock resetting to 14 seconds on an offensive rebound and a one-shot free throw awarded for a transition take foul — where a defender immediately fouls an offensive player before transitioning into the offensive end of the floor.
At the 2023 Summer League, the league tested an in-game flopping penalty where referees could asses a technical foul and free throw if they determined that a player flopped. That rule made its way to the NBA for the 2024-25 season.
Before the 2025 season, the league added the “heave rule” where a shot from at least 36 feet away with 3 seconds or less remaining in the first three quarters does not count toward the player’s field goal percentage, which was tested in the Summer League.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
Up next
NBA Summer League
When: July 9-19
Where: Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion.
Who: All 30 NBA teams
What: Game involving rookies and recent NBA players.
TV: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or Prime Video
