The NBA changed its rule to not count last-second heaves against individual shooting stats this year, which Cavaliers star Evan Mobley wanted to take advantage of Monday.
The problem? He was entirely too early with his full-court heave attempt at the end of the first quarter as Cleveland took on the Bucks at home.
Mobley grabbed a rebound with 11 seconds left on the game clock, took one dribble and tossed up a wild shot attempt from the opposite free-throw line. The shot went up with nine seconds remaining in the quarter. It hit the backboard and bounced back to Bucks forward Bobby Portis, who pushed the pace to get a shot up at the actual buzzer, which rimmed out.
Evan Mobley just a bit early on the heave.pic.twitter.com/fGxmjzUNwi
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) November 18, 2025
In Mobley’s defense, he likely read the shot clock instead of the game clock, which read two seconds left for the Bucks’ possession when he grabbed the rebound. He was credited with a 61-foot three-point miss, as the league’s new heave rule only counts for shots within the final three seconds of the first three quarters. Luckily, the mistake didn’t come back to bite the Cavs’ as Portis’s final shot missed.
What is the NBA’s new rule about heaves at the buzzer?
Over the offseason, the NBA made a rule change where any shot taken within the final three seconds of the first three quarters launched from at least 36 feet away on a play that starts in the backcourt counts as a team attempt, but not an individual shot attempt.
The rule change was made in hopes of increasing the long shot attempts at the end of quarters, which players have shied away from in the past in an effort to save their personal shooting stats. The change was tested at NBA Summer League over the offseason before the heave rule was approved for regular play.
More NBA on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Evan Mobley Was Hilariously Early on Full-Court Heave at First-Quarter Buzzer.
