NBA changes instant replay rules after controversial call in 2024 playoffs

The NBA on Tuesday announced an important rule change to the use of instant replay on out-of-bounds reviews that would’ve had a major impact on at least on game in the playoffs last season. Within the new rule, if a coach challenges an out-of-bounds violation, the game officials and the replay center are now able to look at if a foul occurred during the same play. In other words, if a team challenges an out-of-bounds violation and a review finds that a foul occurred, which led to the violation, the officials can now call for the foul, instead of focusing just on the out-of-bounds violation.

That’s a massive change that we’ll undoubtedly see teams and coaches take advantage of when the season starts. Already, there’s at least one play last season that this rule change would’ve come in handy for, during Game 2 of the Western Conference. With less than a minute to go between the Mavericks and Timberwolves, Jaden McDaniels got the ball at the baseline in the corner and was immediately trapped by Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic. Irving knocked the ball out of McDaniels’ hands, causing it to go out of bounds, but the official said Minnesota retained possession. Dallas challenged the play and upon review it was determined that McDaniels touched the ball last, awarding the Mavericks possession.

Pretty clear cut, right? Except when the instant replay was shown, Irving clearly fouled McDaniels by slapping him on the arm, which caused the ball to dislodge and go out of bounds.

Under the old rules, referees can’t change a decision on an uncalled foul. They can review whether a foul shouldn’t have been called, but not the other way around, which is why Irving wasn’t called for a foul on that possession. That play ended up having a massive impact on the outcome as the Mavericks went on to win at the buzzer to take a 2-0 series lead, and eventually advance to the NBA Finals. Even after that game, crew chief Zach Zarba confirmed that Irving did foul McDaniels, but due to the rules they couldn’t change it upon review.

With the new rule, if that exact play happens again, Irving would be assessed a foul. The Mavericks would lose the challenge, and the Timberwolves would either be awarded the possession or given two free throws, depending on if Dallas was in the penalty or not.

It’s important to note that this rule only applies to if a coach’s challenge is used to contest an out-of-bounds violation. There will also be specific context that will be considered when deciding to assess a foul, including:

• Whether the players involved in the uncalled foul are the same or different players than the ones involved in the out-of-bounds violation under review
• The distance between the uncalled foul and the out-of-bounds violation under review
• The time elapsed between the uncalled foul and the out-of-bounds violation under review

We’ll surely see this rule change have an impact in important games going forward, especially in an instance where a team is awarded two free throws in a crunch situation. It may make coaches rethink using those challenges if they know their own player committed a foul which would hurt them more than just losing possession of the ball.