NBA Summer League games held this month in Salt Lake City, Northern California, and Las Vegas will utilize a one free throw rule intended to speed up play. The NBA announced Thursday that any foul typically resulting in one, two, or three free throws will instead result in a single attempt worth the same total number of points as the replaced shots.
This rule has been used by the G League since the 2019-20 season. However, standard free throw rules will remain in effect during the final two minutes of fourth quarters and throughout all overtime periods.
The league also introduced the use of connected basketball for the summer games. The ball contains an embedded sensor designed to detect contact without noticeably changing the weight or feel of the ball. According to the league, this technology aims to collect data to support future officiating applications, such as determining last-touch out-of-bounds calls.
Summer League has historically served as a testing ground for NBA rule changes. Previous policies that originated in the G League or Summer League before being adopted by the NBA include the coaches' challenge, resetting the 24-second shot clock to 14 seconds on offensive rebounds, and the one-shot award for transition take fouls.
The Salt Lake City Summer League features teams including Utah, Atlanta, Memphis, and Oklahoma City, with games scheduled for Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday. The roster for the event includes Jazz No. 2 draft pick Darryn Peterson and Memphis No. 3 pick Cameron Boozer.
A potential matchup between No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa of Washington and Peterson could occur on July 9 during the official NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, which runs from July 9 through July 19.
