When the NBA world was demanding a solution to ‘flopping,’ Adam Silver’s latest move probably wasn’t it. The NBA is reportedly looking at a new officiating experiment to combat the free-throw epidemic. The experiment will be tested during the NBA Summer League. But before it could even be implemented, the NBA world reacted. After reviewing the proposal, 5x NBA champion and Chicago Bulls icon Ron Harper offered a very clear review.

The new plan is to test out a radical “one free-throw” rule during the upcoming Summer League. It’s exactly as the name suggests, and it has basketball purists furious. Even NBA veterans are openly revolted against the alteration.

Harper did not mince words when reacting to a social media breakdown of the test guidelines. He flatly labeled the concept on X: “So damn stupid.”

The one-free-throw rule was always going to be a deep philosophical divide between old-school grit and modern entertainment strategies. Harper was an elite floor spacer for the Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen-led Bulls’ dynasty in the late 1990s. His perimeter defense was legendary in a very physical era.

Dylan Harper’s dad has historically spoken out against the perceived softening of the modern game. But he’s also critical of ‘flopping.’

At the start of the 2025-26 season, he posted, “This @NBA season has been been more free throws then any season with bad @NBAOfficial games. Guys fall down and flop and get free throws and it’s bad…. Missed calls and you telling me that this era is better? Hell NO.”

If there are already too many free throws and one is too few, a couple of social media users questioned what he wants. For a defensive purist who values severe athletic consequences over delicate whistles, Silver’s newest experiment to alter the baseline scoring structure might look like an unnecessary gimmick.

The NBA’s new summer project

Ron Harper is not the only one who has doubts about the experiment. But the NBA is going to do a trial anyway.

Under the proposed framework, any shooting infraction that would typically result in multiple trips to the charity stripe will instead be reduced to a single, high-stakes shot.

Two-Point Fouls: A player fouled on a missed two-point shot takes just one free throw, which is worth two points if successful.

Three-Point Fouls: A player hacked on a missed three-point attempt takes a single free throw worth three points.

And-1 Situations: Traditional three-point or four-point plays remain completely unaltered, counting as one shot for one point.

This pace-of-play initiative has quietly been tested in the NBA G League since the 2019–20 season, specifically to eliminate dead time and optimize overall game flow. Apparently, by making the free sequence more compact, Silver hopes to keep fan engagement consistent during these stretches.

There are also new measures, such as using balls embedded with sensors to determine whether contact was made.

Despite these experiments, critics remain highly skeptical that the minor time saved per game justifies upending a historical rule structure that has successfully governed professional basketball since the 1979–80 season.