The NBA Rulebook Just Tilted Toward Your Supercoach

Stephen Curry is entering his 17th season in the NBA.

Over that span in Supercoach terms, he’s been the ultimate premium: elite efficiency, historic three-point volume, and enough free throws to singlehandedly win categories. 

The problem is usually his price tag.

However, this season, at just $15.5M, he’s only the 12th most expensive point guard.

And if you’re staring at that price tag, wondering whether to smash the buy button…the NBA may have answered it for you.

Heading into 2025-26, the NBA rulebook itself has tilted in Curry’s favour.

Two rule changes – the High-Five Rule and the Heave Rule – are subtle on the surface, but massive in how they touch Curry’s profile.

One protects his shooting wrist and boosts his whistle equity.

The other eliminates the silent tax on the 100 heaves he’s launched in his career.

Together, they make Curry statistically bulletproof in ways that matter for Supercoach.

Below is the full breakdown – Curry’s upside under the new rules, how it shows up in SuperCoach scoring, what it means for availability, and the cheaper players who’ll ride the same wave:

1) The High-Five Rule: Invisible Contact, Visible Points

This rule change comes into effect in the 2025-26 NBA season.

Simply put: defenders will no longer be allowed to make secondary contact with a shooter’s hand, wrist, or arm after the ball has been released on a jump shot or three-pointer – where that contact impacts the shooter’s follow-through or rhythm. 

Previously, the so-called “high-five” foul (a defender swiping a shooter’s arm/hand after release) was rarely called, even if arguably it affected the shot or risked injury. 

Under the updated emphasis:

– A legal closeout is still allowed: a defender can contest a shot vertically, make contact before or at release in a normal contest.

• What becomes a foul: when the defender makes a second motion (after ball release) intentionally targeting the shooter’s hand/arm/wrist (not just incidental contact) and thereby interferes with follow-through. 

Incidental/benign contact still won’t always be called – the key is “conscious second motion” by the defender. 

For example, in a preseason game, the Warriors’ Curry hit a three-pointer and drew the foul under this rule when the defender later swiped his hand after the release.

The call stood, resulting in a four-point play. 

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr knows how significant the rule change is. 

“I think it’ll help Steph every game because of the relaxed rules on that the last few years, everybody’s out there just trying to hammer him on the arm,” Kerr explained.

“It’s a good change for him, it’s a good change for everybody, I think it’s just, that’s a foul. To me it should have been called for the last few years, it just got away from everybody and I’m glad that the league addressed it.”

Expect Curry to draw more “and-one” or three-point-plus-foul opportunities, and even just end up at the line more. 

By removing an extra layer of defender interference, Curry may have an even better rhythm, fewer disrupted shots, and thus slightly better efficiency. 

You’re essentially guaranteeing the most efficient free throw shooter in NBA history (career ~91%) and all time leader in threes will shoot more free throws and make more uncontested threes. 

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The league is explicitly framing this as a player-safety issue for shooters.

Fewer rakes on the shooting wrist means fewer flare-ups, fewer taped fingers, and fewer “not quite right” nights.

That is massive for Steph’s availability in a SuperCoach season.

2) The Heave Rule: Free Lottery Tickets, No Statistical Tax

End-of-quarter bombs used to come with a hidden Supercoach tax: misses counted against your personal FG%/ 3P%, which incentivised stars to dribble the clock out.

Starting in 2025-26, unsuccessful heaves from ≥36 feet in the final 3 seconds of Q1–Q3 (on plays beginning in the backcourt) are recorded as team misses, not personal.

Made heaves still count for the player.

In other words: zero downside, non-zero upside.

• League tracking pegged makes on these shots at ~4-6% last season – rare, but real. Over a season, a high-usage long-range shooter might add a couple of bonus threes and a few points – tiny on its own, but it stacks with the efficiency insulation you just gained.
• It also changes behaviour: more stars will actually take the heave now, rather than protect their line. Curry might not suddenly lead the league in heaves, but he’s now incentivised to take all of his.

What This Actually Means for a $15.5M Spend

At $15.5M, you’re paying potential unders for a stabilised floor and a smidge of new upside created by enforcement that finally favours the best shooter on earth.

For almost half the price of the top-of-the-range player in Nikola Jokic, you’re getting a bump from rules that will touch both production and availability.

Production bump (modest, bankable)

• Free throws: Expect a rise in FTA from post-release contact being whistled. That’s automatic SuperCoach juice at Curry’s all-time high FT%.
  
• Efficiency insulation: Cleaner follow-through + removing heave misses from his personal ledger = slightly better FG%/3P%. In tight weeks, decimal points win rounds.
  
• Heave equity: Guaranteed “Bonus” threes per season, with zero % tax when he misses. Who else would you want taking them?

Availability tilt (the quiet edge)

• By curbing the exact wrist/forearm contact shooters hate, the league is reducing the accumulated hand wear-and-tear that sidelines elite perimeter players in January. Your expected games played ticks up-incrementally, but meaningfully for a premium.

Cheap (or Cheaper) Beneficiaries to Pair With Curry

You want profiles that (a) take lots of jumpers/spot-ups, (b) draw tight contests, and (c) may have avoided heaves or lost efficiency to post-release contact. Prices are indicative:

• Malik Beasley (unsigned) – Ranked among the league’s top 3PT volume shooters last season. The assessment still stands: protected follow-through = steadier yield; heaves become free tries. Monitor his situation closely – once he’s signed, he becomes an easy stack at a likely $8-$9M price point.
  
• Desmond Bane ($14.5M) – Heavy pull-up diet, constant tight contests. More whistles, fewer wrist slaps, and quietly elite at the line. A bit pricier, but his profile is tailor-made for the High-Five emphasis.
  
• Zach LaVine ($13.7M) – Re-paired with DeMar DeRozan in Sacramento. $200K more than DeRozan, but offers more drives + three-point volume. The High-Five rule boosts both his foul-drawing drives and contested jumpers. A strong mid-tier value.
  
• Klay Thompson ($7.9M) – This season he’ll primarily be a floor-spacing sniper. Catch-and-shoot specialists like Klay are big winners here: fewer disrupted follow-throughs, more chance for clean releases. At under $8M, he’s a classic “buy-low” veteran.
  
• Stretch Big (value tier) – The archetype matters more than the name: low-volume, high-leverage threes from bigs get protected, which stabilises FG% while giving you bonus ceiling on clean pick-and-pop releases.