The NBA will implement a rule change in the upcoming season to record missed end-of-period heaves as team field goal attempts rather than individual player attempts. Because the reclassification means players' shooting percentages will not be negatively impacted, the league could see an uptick in last-second shots from half court and beyond. While the change brings an excitement factor, it is not universally popular. For one, NBA champion and 17-year veteran Richard Jefferson denounced the rule change as "cowardly."

Successful heaves will count positively toward players' percentages while missed shots will count against the team. That key discrepancy did not sit well with Jefferson.

"This is cowardly!" Jefferson said on social media . "We don't want it to count towards your %…… U

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