Is this the end of SGA’s MVP streak?
The NBA has a couple new points of emphasis every year when it comes to the officiating, and the top focus ahead of the 2026-27 season could have a big impact on some of the best players in the world. The NBA intends to give defenses more of a chance to actually play defense this season, and superstars like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jaylen Brown are going to have to adjust their games quite a bit … if the officials actually stick to calling it all season.
The NBA’s first point of emphasis this year is outlawing off-arm push-offs for drivers. This has been a weapon for star scorers dating back to Michael Jordan’s series-clinching shot in the 1998 NBA Finals, but it seemed to get more egregious this past season with players fully extending their off-arm to gain separation from their defender. This move has been particularly effective for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and I’d go as far as to say that it has helped fuel his rise to a 2x MVP that absolutely no one saw coming when he entered the league out of Kentucky.
The league dropped a video explaining their points of emphasis for this season, and even though SGA isn’t included in the examples, he feels like the main person who will be under the spotlight on this. Check it out here:
The league’s other early point of emphasis is banning push-off screens, which is another big potential boost for defenses around the league. The on-ball push-offs feel more interesting, and I’m fascinated to see how it’s officiated throughout the regular season.
The video above has examples of proper and improper off-arm contact. The difference looks pretty minimal to the naked eye. Essentially, the league is saying players can’t fully extend their off-arm, but that’s not the only criteria. If the contact is a) initiated by the offensive player, b) forceful, and c) impacts the primary defender’s ability to defend the play, then it’s supposed to be called an offensive foul. Offensive players are allowed to “firm up” at the point of contact, but if the refs think they’re pushing off, the possession will be going the other way.
How will officials determine what’s “forceful” beyond a full extension? Your guess is as good as mine. I just know that this could be very bad for Gilgeous-Alexander if the refs are willing to call it all year.
I’m a big SGA fan — and I know I’m probably on an island on that one outside of OKC. I was really high on him in the 2018 NBA Draft, but obviously not even his biggest fans would have predicted he’d eventually become the 16th player ever to win multiple MVP awards. As someone who has watched SGA dating back to college, I really believe his mastery of the off-arm rules is what took him to the next level. That’s not to discount his awesome three-point shooting improvement, absolutely nasty handle and footwork, and improved ability to read defenses. He has gotten better in so many ways, but his ability to create separation with his off-arm without getting called for it is really what unlocks his game.
He’s a classic example of an SGA push-off. When you combine his mastery of this move with the fact that he has a 7-foot wingspan and deadly mid-range shooting touch, it makes him almost impossible to defend.
It seems like this move will be called an offensive foul for the upcoming season. Right? Or is the push-off not “forceful” enough? You can see why this is going to be very difficult to legislate.
Here’s another example of an SGA push-off that’s more of a shoulder bump than a full extension. I assume this is still within the rules of acceptable contact, but I’m not totally sure. The contact is forceful in my view, but it’s more of a shoulder thump than a push-off. I’d call this a chicken wing. The chicken wing is still, cool?
It seems like the officials actually started to make this adjustment during the playoffs. Gilgeous-Alexander was called for push-offs throughout his playoff run, including in the Western Conference Finals. Jaylen Brown was called for multiple push-offs in the first-round against the Philadelphia 76ers.
As John Voita at Bright Side of the Sun notes, the NBA has set a point of emphasis in the past and only called for them for the first couple weeks of the season before going back to business as usual. Will they actually see these rules all the way through the year? It was already going to be hard for Gilgeous-Alexander to win a third-straight MVP just because of voter fatigue, but it’s going to be even more difficult if the refs stick to their plan entering the year.