WNBA Playoff Field Set And NBA Changing Rule For "Heaves"

WNBA Playoff Field Set And NBA Changing Rule For “Heaves”

The time is now for a big run and The adjustment takes effect in the upcoming season

Brittany Griner — Source: (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) / Getty

WNBA Playoff Field Set

The field is now set for the WNBA Playoffs. The Seattle Storm beat the Golden State Valkyries to clinch the final spot in the postseason. The Minnesota Lynx earned the number one seed and will have home court advantage throughout the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Phoenix Mercury and New York Liberty have locked in the fourth and fifth seeds and will face each other in the first round. The rest of the seeding will be determined over the last two days of the season. The WNBA Playoffs will tipoff Sunday.

Kawhi Leonard leaving the court — Source: (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) / (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)

Silver: Burden On NBA To Find Wrongdoing By Clippers, Kawhi Leonard

NBA commissioner Adam Silver has made his thoughts known on the situation between the LA Clippers and star player Kawhi Leonard. Silver said that it will be up to the NBA to prove wrongdoing during its investigation of potential salary cap circumvention by the Clippers, owner Steve Ballmer and Leonard. The league has already begun an investigation into whether Ballmer and the Clippers violated league rules because Leonard accepted a 28-million-dollar endorsement for a “no-show job” from now-bankrupt green banking company Aspiration.

NBA Changing Rule For Unsuccessful End-Of-Period “Heaves”

The NBA is updating its rules to treat certain missed end-of-period “heaves” as team attempts rather than individual misses. ESPN reports the change follows testing during the 2024-25 G League season and the 2025 Summer League. The adjustment takes effect in the upcoming season. It applies only when the attempt originates in the backcourt, occurs within the final three seconds of the first three periods, and is taken from roughly 36 feet or farther. This change will not lower a player’s personal field-goal percentage but will count against the team’s percentage instead.