The NBA’s Smartest Rule Change?

This is now a flagrant foul in the NBA. Not because Victor Womenyama got hurt, but because the NBA's reckless close out rule might just be one of the smartest player safety rules the league has ever implemented. Cuz there's a big difference between metaphorically breaking ankles and physically doing it. Let's break this down. As Goar closes out, his foot slides directly underneath Wendy's landing zone. Fortunately, Wendy avoids major inversion injury here, but this exact mechanism historically could take stars out of entire playoff series. Once a player leaves the ground, they can't fully control where they land. And shooters usually land with their ankles slightly plantar flexed, one of the ankle's least stable positions. So, it doesn't just rapidly invert the joint. It's the athlete's entire body weight collapsing down through the ankle that makes the mechanism so significant that can overload the lateral ankle ligaments and in more severe cases lead to synismotic injury, tendon damage, and fractures with recovery timelines ranging anywhere from weeks to months. The NBA officially began enforcing the reckless closeout rule in 2017, aka the Zaza rule. after Kawhi Leonard was knocked out of the series against the Warriors when Zaza Petulia stepped into his landing space in the 2017 Western Conference Finals. Golden State would eventually go on to win the championship that year. Historically, players even admit doing this intentionally. Die Hards might recall Jaylen Rose later admitted he intentionally slid underneath a 21-year-old Phobe during the 2000 NBA Finals. Elite hoopers know breaking ankles is supposed to happen with skill, not by weaponizing a player's landing zone.