Starting with the 2025-26 NBA season, there will be a notable change in how end-of-period heaves—those last-second, often desperation shots taken as the clock expires—are officially recorded. According to NBA insider Shams Charania, unsuccessful end-of-quarter or end-of-game heaves will no longer count as missed field-goal attempts against the individual player who took the shot. Instead, these missed heaves will be credited as team attempts, not impacting any single player’s shooting statistics.
This change means that if a player launches a long-distance shot just before the buzzer and misses, that miss will not hurt their field-goal percentage or shooting stats. The reasoning behind this update is to provide a fairer representation of a player’s shooting efficiency by excluding these low-percentage, often chaotic attempts that don’t reflect typical in-game shot quality or skill.
End-of-period heaves have historically been a quirky part of basketball statistics, often skewing individual shooting percentages. Players frequently take these shots in situations with little to no expectation of success, such as at the end of a quarter or half when there is no time left to set up a proper offensive play. By removing these misses from individual records, the NBA aims to ensure that player stats better reflect their true shooting ability during regular gameplay.
Under this new rule, all unsuccessful end-of-period shots will still count as attempts in the team’s overall statistics, maintaining the accuracy of game flow and team performance data. However, individual players’ shooting percentages will no longer be negatively affected by these buzzer-beater misses.
This adjustment is expected to have a subtle but meaningful impact on player metrics and analytics, especially for players who take a high number of these heaves over the course of a season. Fans and analysts will likely see slightly improved shooting percentages for some players, reflecting a cleaner, more accurate view of shooting performance.
Overall, this rule change represents the NBA’s ongoing efforts to modernize statistical tracking and improve fairness in player evaluation. It acknowledges the unique nature of end-of-period heaves and separates them from typical game shots, offering a clearer picture of player efficiency.
