Steph Curry Breaks Silence on NBA’s Controversial New Heave Rule—Is the Game Forever Changed?

Steph Curry’s been blazing trails from deep for years, and finally, the NBA is rolling out a rule that might just give him the nod he’s craved — and deserved. Starting this season, any wild heave launched from 36 feet out during the last three seconds of the first three quarters won’t ding a player’s shooting stats; it’s credited to the team instead. This clever tweak’s designed to nudge players toward those buzzer-beater bombs without guilt over their personal numbers — something Curry has been championing quietly in the background for a while now. Watching a maestro like Steph grin at a change that frees him up to launch his signature end-of-quarter daggers without the usual stat anxiety? That’s just… something special. And yeah, while the rule’s got its quirks — like the backcourt-start requirement — Curry’s just happy to keep the game flowing. After all, a legend who’s dropped 24.7 points a game on near 50-percent shooting and drained threes at 42.3 percent can afford to shrug off a few extra attempts. Wondering how this shapes up or what it means for the next wave of deep shooters? LEARN MORE.

Steph Curry finally might get what he has 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 has 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.”

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