This preseason, the NBA and its officials released their Points of Emphasis for the 2026-27 season and one of the most-discussed sections was off-arm push-offs by offensive players.
A move popularized by some of the league’s most dynamic offensive players, like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jaylen Brown, has become one of the more natural moves in modern basketball, as polarizing as it is. League officials are beginning to crack down on the space it creates and, most importantly, the disadvantage it creates for
the defender.
The Lakers roster two of the league’s best offensive scorers, Austin Reaves and Luka Dončić, who may often be in the scope of officials and those points of emphasis. Head coach JJ Redick, though, has been a voice in the ears of the league regarding this issue behind the scenes for a while.
Redick told reporters during training camp that, following an unnamed game last season, he sent Monty McCutchen, NBA senior vice president of referee development and training, a dozen clips of instances where the off-arm push-off was used against Los Angeles.
“I just wanted an explanation because of how we teach our guys defensively,” Redick said as he pantomimed the motion. “We teach a first bump, arms out, bump them with your chest. So if the offensive player is allowed to fully extend and shove off. I showed them 12 clips from this one single game — it was called once.
“I certainly wasn’t the only coach that sent in clips to [McCutchen] and the refs … We got to protect the offensive player, and we’ve got to also give the defense a chance. And the league, and the refs, and the competition committee, I think, do a great job every year of trying to find that balance.”
Redick revealed that NBA coaches met with the league’s referees and competition committee in Chicago in September to review these points of emphasis and that they actually showed two of the clips he sent in from that game last season.
Redick and the team also met with Hall of Fame referee Joey Crawford the week before training camp for what was a “healthy” conversation about the league’s areas of focus. Crawford, who retired in 2016, serves as a referee performance development advisor for the NBA.
Reaves was also asked for his opinion during training camp and was almost facetiously reluctant to share it so as not to get in trouble with the league. Overall, he agrees that fully extending the arm to create space should be an offensive foul and that it would be a correct call it it were called on him. But he was also of the opinion that there are similar ways to create space that shouldn’t necessarily warrant a whistle.
“I think there’s different ways to do it,” Reaves said. “There’s ways of just using your shoulders where you don’t extend the arm, and I think that’s perfectly fine. There’s a fine line there, but I think anytime your arm actually extends without it being pulled, I technically think it should be [a foul].”
Dončić and Reaves have thrived, for better or worse, at manipulating defenders and officials on offense. Being able to draw fouls in the open court is a critical part of their games. Dončić led the league with 10.1 free throw attempts per game last year. Austin was 13th, getting up 7.3 at the charity stripe per contest.
Just how much will this officiating change affect the Lakers? Bronny James wasalready whistled for this when he extended his arm on Stephen Curry during their preseason game against the Warriors on Tuesday.
It may affect Dončić and Reaves sporadically throughout the season. Dončić relies more on his patented step-back to create space, while Reaves uses more of his shoulders, as he alluded to. But where this really helps the Lakers is on the defensive end.
Redick is deploying a more aggressive point-of-attack defensive mindset that includes picking up ball handlers for the full length of the court. Defenders like Ziaire Williams, Quentin Grimes and Matisse Thybulle are now encouraged to be more aggressive defending the ball.
Overall, this change feels like a net positive for the new-look Lakers.
You can follow Connor on Twitter at @cmorenoNBA.
