Mark Daigneault gets honest over adjusted NBA referee rules for 2026-27 season

Now that training camps across the league are well underway, the NBA officials have announced their annual points of emphasis. The 2026-27 regular season will see referees be hyperaware of a couple of actions and calls. At least at the start of the year, anyway.

The NBA Official social media account recently posted a handful of points of emphasis — off-arm push-offs by offensive players, landing space provided after a closeout and freedom of movement. Per usual, expect NBA referees to travel across training camps to demonstrate to teams how things will get called at the start of the year.

When the NBA Official social media account announced the tweaks, the social media world went ablaze. Fans across the league pointed out how demoralizing it'll

be for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The walking 30-point scorer has made it an art to relentlessly drive to the rim and draw contact. Little do NBA fans know, though, that the point of emphasis has little to do with his patented chicken-wing move that creates space to drill mid-range jumpers.

Instead, from what the video explanations detailed, NBA referees will focus on guys basically stiff-arming defenders out of the way for space. Say what you want about Gilgeous-Alexander and his scoring bag, but he seldom muscles his way to a bucket. Instead, the slender guard slithers his way to the rim like a snake.

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault talked about the 2026-27 points of emphasis. He specifically mentioned the flopping involved. At least, on the defensive end. Guys like Lu Dort have made it a knack to sell contact on screens and potentially draw an offensive foul. Not only will those go uncalled, but the defender could get tagged with a defensive foul if that continues.

"Well, they've come up with a term. There are the four F's. Just like the pathway play a couple of years ago," Daigneault said. "They've tried to create a lot of clarity around a part of the game that tends to be subjective without that clarity. They’ve been very clear in terms of what's the rule, how it's supposed to be enforced. As long as they enforce it fairly and consistently, we're a team that's played very well in defense."

That's been Daigneault's M.O. over the years any time he's asked about the officiating. He just wants things to be called the same throughout the game. If it's going to be a tight whistle, call it that way throughout the entirety. If it's going to be loose and allow the Thunder to play their bully-style of defense, then don't change things up at the high-leverage moments of the game.

It will be interesting to see how long the NBA referees stick to these points of emphasis. Typically speaking, they're incredibly by-the-book at the start of the regular season. But we roll through the seven-month marathon that features games every night, the officials tend to lose their sharpness and rely on their old habits. By around the midway point, we're back to square one on how games are usually called.

"They’re sticking with the pathway stuff. Flopping's been a rule, which is mainly a defensive thing. Guys are taking dives. It'll be interesting," Daigneault said. "The flopping is going to be very closely tied to the push-offs. If defensive players know the push-offs are a point of emphasis, they might be flailing to try to bait those calls."

Mark Daigneault on the referee points of emphasis: “They've tried to create a lot of clarity around a part of the game that tends to be subjective without that clarity. They’ve been very clear in terms of what’s the rule, how it's supposed to be enforced. As long as they enforce… pic.twitter.com/o3Ugt8hXiC

— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) September 30, 2026

Mark Daigneault on the referee points of emphasis: “They’re sticking with the pathway stuff. Flopping's been a rule, which is mainly like a defensive thing. Guys taking dives. It'll be interesting. The flopping is going to be very closely tied to the push-offs. If defensive… pic.twitter.com/M0mqBvw1TC

— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) September 30, 2026

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Mark Daigneault gets honest over adjusted NBA referee rules for 2026-27 season