The NBA has broadened the scope of coach’s challenge reviews to include the assessment of fouls on out-of-bounds plays, as announced on Tuesday. This change allows for fouls that should have been called to be reviewed shortly after the play. The NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was expected to address this decision following the Board of Governors meeting in New York where it was unanimously backed by the league’s competition committee. The modification will be implemented in the upcoming season.
This alteration in review procedures could have impacted previous playoff matches, such as an incident involving Kyrie Irving of Dallas fouling Jaden McDaniels of Minnesota, resulting in the ball going out of bounds without a foul being called. Despite video evidence confirming the foul, Dallas retained possession as the out-of-bounds decision stood.
When coaches trigger reviews on out-of-bounds plays going forward, on-court officials and the NBA Replay Center will now have the authority to examine whether a foul related to the violation should have been recognized, given specific criteria. These criteria include establishing whether the players involved in the overlooked foul are the same or different from those involved in the out-of-bounds infraction under scrutiny, as well as assessing the time gap between the missed foul and the violation.
