One free throw rule coming to NBA Summer League after G League test

A major experiment will be going on during this year’s NBA Summer League.

The NBA announced Thursday that the “one free throw rule” will be used at the Summer League events happening this month in Salt Lake City, Northern California and Las Vegas.

The G League has used this rule since the 2019-20 season, which is designed to speed up play.

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Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks shoots a free throw during the game against the San Antonio Spurs during Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 13, 2026 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. (Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images)

Any foul that would typically result in the awarding of one, two or three free throws will instead result in a single free-throw attempt. That attempt will be worth the same total number of points as the free throws it replaces.

The rule doesn’t apply to the entire game, though. Standard free-throw rules — two shots for a two-shot foul, etc. — will be used for the last two minutes of fourth quarters and in all of overtime.

Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs takes a foul shot against the New York Knicks in Game Four of the 2026 NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden on June 10, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) ((Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images))

It’s unclear whether the one-free-throw rule will make it into NBA games, but similar to the minor and independent leagues and Major League Baseball, the Summer League has been a proving ground for eventual rule changes.

Among those that started at those levels and eventually got to the NBA are the coach’s challenge, resetting the 24-second shot clock to 14 seconds after offensive rebounds and the one-shot award for a transition take foul — which is when a defender intentionally commits a foul to halt a transition opportunity for the opposition.

Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots a free throw during the first half of Game 4 against the New York Knicks in the second round of the NBA playoffs in Philadelphia on May 10, 2026. (Matt Slocum/AP)

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The G League also plays 10-minute quarters, something NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has openly advocated for. The league once tested 11-minute quarters in a preseason game, while exhibition games prior to the “bubble” in 2020 used 10-minute quarters.

The Summer League begins on July 9.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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