NBA instructs referees to crack down on offensive push-offs this season
The NBA is making off-arm push-offs by offensive players a point of emphasis for 2026-27. Basically, refs have been told to pay closer attention when an offensive player extends the off arm to create separation or move a defender. It’s not a new rule, just stricter enforcement of an existing one.
As always with these preseason points of emphasis, the interesting part will be whether they’re still calling it this way in January.
NBA Official’s already did the work with two explainer videos.
Ben Golliver’s ESPN article for some additional context