Steph Curry finally might get what he’s wanted during the 2025-26 NBA season.
The league’s new “Heave Rule” takes effect this season, which states that any shot taken at least 36 feet away within the final three seconds of the first three quarters will count as a team shot attempt — not an individual one.
The goal is to encourage players to take more long-distance, end-of-quarter shots without negatively impacting their personal shooting percentages. Curry, who’s taken plenty of those types of shots over his career, has been on board.
“I used to be like the grumpy old guy sitting on the porch yelling at people who didn’t take that shot because they were afraid of what it does to their shooting percentage,” Curry said (h/t The San Francisco Standard’s Tim Kawakami).
Curry has no shortage of unimaginable half-court buzzer-beater shots, and now with the new rule, he might have some competition.
The rule states the play must have started in the backcourt for it to apply.
While Curry is a fan of the half-court heaves, he acknowledged that the technicalities of the new rule are a bit too complex for his liking.
“That’s too much to think about,” he said. “Just play basketball.”
In 1,026 career games through 16 seasons with Golden State, Curry has averaged 24.7 points on 47.1 percent shooting from the field and 42.3 percent from 3-point range.
It’s safe to say his shooting percentages haven’t been damaged by his many, many long treys.
“I could care less,” Curry said. “I get, what? 10 extra field goals maybe throughout a whole season.”
