NBA Competition Committee Eying Additional Coach's Challenge

NBA Competition Committee eying additional coach's challenge originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

The NBA could be making a vital change to the coach's challenge rule.

The league's Competition Committee is eying a new rule next season that could award coaches with a second challenge during a game if their first challenge is proven successful, according to Chris Haynes of NBA on TNT and Bleacher Report.

NBA’s Competition Committee is in serious discussions on awarding teams a second and final challenge if first challenge is ruled successful beginning with the 2023-24 season, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport.

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) May 26, 2023

The league implemented the coach’s challenge in 2019-20 and it has shown to be successful in challenging real-time calls that officials get wrong. Currently, coaches are only allowed one challenge per game, regardless of whether or not the challenge is successful. 

Because of that stipulation, coaches often save that challenge for late-game moments when a single possession could change the outcome of a game. Adding a second challenge, though, could open up the possibility of coaches challenging late-game calls on personal fouls, out-of-bounds calls, goaltending violations and more.

Haynes also added that "a test run" of the two challenges could be used during Summer League.

Coaches have long awaited the opportunity to argue calls against their players. Some calls, they believe, are hurtful to the game. 

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr recently spoke on flopping and made a “personal plea” that the NBA should make a rule change that would mirror the International Basketball Federation.

“If a referee deems a player has flopped, they just call it a technical foul, and it’s pretty penalizing,” Kerr told reporters at Crypto.com Arena after Game 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers. 

“And so the flopping has basically been eliminated from FIBA, and we have the ability to do the same thing in the NBA if we want.”

The NBA Competition Committee is also looking at in-game penalties that could address the league-wide flopping issues.

Sources: The NBA’s Competition Committee is discussing potential of in-game penalty for flops that would result in technical foul free throw. Trial is possible at Summer League in July.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 25, 2023

These long-awaited improvements could create an even better system throughout the league.