Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jaylen Brown and other NBA stars who will be targeted by push-off crackdown

Over the past few years, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has ascended from a high-upside prospect to a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player. His three-level scoring and metronomic tempo deserve most of the credit for that, but his off arm might merit at least a Best Supporting Actor nod.

That could spell trouble for him — and other high-volume scorers throughout the NBA — heading into the 2026-27 season.

The NBA recently revealed its officiating points of emphasis this season, one of which revolves around "Off-Arm Push Offs."

ESPN's Ben Golliver shared more details about how those will be officiated moving forward:

"A push-off most commonly occurs when an offensive player uses his non-dribbling arm to contact a defensive player so that he can create space to attempt a shot from the perimeter. While some level of jockeying between offensive players and defensive players is legal and to be expected, the NBA's referees will now use the 'Four F's' framework to determine if they should call an offensive foul on a push off:

"The 'Four F's' are feeling, firming, force and full extension.

"Referees have been instructed that a ball handler is allowed to use his off arm to "feel" his opponent or to "firm up" by gathering himself in front of a defensive player. However, referees should assess an offensive foul if the ball handler's off arm contacts the defender with "force" or is "fully extended" to create an advantage."

SGA isn't the only NBA star who might be in danger of racking up more offensive fouls this season…provided, of course, that the officials actually stick to this point of emphasis instead of abandoning it by mid-December like usual.

While the NBA's video only highlighted one clip per offender, we've highlighted a handful of other stars who might need a new go-to move as they look to force their way toward the basket.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder

When the NBA announced this point of emphasis last week, Shai caught the most strays out of any star.

However, Matt Moore of Hardwood Paroxsym is skeptical that it will impact SGA to the degree that random Twitter trolls think it will.

SGA averaged 25.8 drives per game last season, which ranked second leaguewide behind only Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija. He undeniably uses his off arm at times to create better separation between himself and a defender, but his handle is tight enough that he doesn't need to rely on that consistently.

Besides, if you think NBA officials are routinely going to put the two-time reigning MVP in foul trouble, I have an overleveraged data center to sell you.

Jaylen Brown, Philadelphia 76ers

If you watched the first-round playoff series between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers this past spring, it should come as little surprise that Jaylen Brown was the first example highlighted in the NBA's points-of-emphasis video. After all, Brown complained about how the officials "clearly had an agenda" against him for calling him for off-arm push offs even though "every player does it."

On the bright side, the refs should be far more equitable about handing out fouls for that move this coming season. However, Brown was called for the second-most offensive fouls of any player during the regular season last year, trailing only New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns.

Considering how frequently that issue arose, particularly in the playoffs, Brown undoubtedly spent time this offseason developing some countermoves. Luckily, he now plays with Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Joel Embiid and LeBron James, so he shouldn't have to create offense out of nowhere this season anywhere near as much as he did on the Jayson Tatum-less Celtics last year.

Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic

Brown wasn't the only player who popped up in the NBA's points-of-emphasis video. Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero also made an appearance thanks to an egregious push-off that he broke out against San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson.

"Banchero does a full extension with his off arm to push off Johnson, and this contact is clearly more than just using his off arm to feel for his opponent," the video said. "The illegal contact here created space for Banchero to attempt a short jumper, and he was correctly called for an offensive foul."

Banchero isn't quite as prolific when it comes to drives as Gilgeous-Alexander or Brown, but he did average 18.0 per game last year, which was tied for 17th leaguewide. He has an above-average handle for a 6'10" forward, but he's nowhere as proficient as a guard in that department, which leads to him exploring other ways to create separation.

Well… used to, anyway.

Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors

Now that preseason action has begun, we're starting to see these points of emphasis play out in real time. Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes got a harsh wake-up call against Miami Heat wing Klay Thompson early in the first quarter Saturday as Thompson slid his feet to attempt to contest a Barnes drive.

Barnes averaged only 12.0 drives per game last year, which ranked outside of the top 50 leaguewide, but he might have more opportunities to do so this season now that he's playing alongside Kawhi Leonard. He had to create more of his own offense last season, which might have led him to develop some bad habits with his off arm.

Therein lies the rub with jumbo playmakers. You want the ball in their hands since it's tough to defend a 6-foot-9 point forward, but their handles are rarely tight enough to manufacture space on their own.

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