What is Coach's Challenge? NBA's latest rule change explained

The NBA introduced the Coach's Challenge back in the 2019-20 season and made changes to it back in July. It was initially on a one-year trial before it became an official rule in the 2020-21 season. But what is the latest rule change in the Coach's Challenge?

The league announced in July that the Board of Governors approved two rule changes. The first one was the introduction of the in-game flopping penalty rule and the other was the changes to the Coach's Challenge.

Here's the list of changes:

• A team will be awarded a second Coach's Challenge if the first challenge is successful.
• The timeout used for the second Coach's Challenge will not be retained regardless if the challenge is successful or not.
• There will be no changes to the rules of the first Coach's Challenge.

The Coach's Challenge has been a hit-and-miss since its introduction, but the additional changes meant that people around the league are more receptive to it. Here's a look at the original rules of the Coach's Challenge:

• A team only has one Coach's challenge that can be used at any point during the game.
• A coach can use the challenge by calling a timeout and asking the referees for an official replay review.
• If the challenge is successful, the team keeps the timeout.
• If the challenge is unsuccessful, the team loses the timeout.
• A coach can only challenge personal fouls, out-of-bounds and goaltending calls.
• A coach cannot challenge non-calls.

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Coach's Challenge can affect results of NBA game

One prime example of how a Coach's Challenge affects an NBA game happened last season between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers on March 16. With Joel Embiid having five fouls, Evan Mobley drew a charge with around four minutes left in the game.

Then-Sixers head coach Doc Rivers used his Coach's Challenge and it was successful. Embiid was not called for the offensive foul and subsequently helped the Sixers win the game. It was a fair assessment from the officials, and it was understandable that Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff was furious with the officials:

"He drew a hell of a charge to get Embiid his sixth foul. He did a hell of a job, it's clear as day that's a charge. There's no doubt about it, the call was made on the floor. He stands in between him and the basket. They lower the shoulder."

Of course, it's still debatable but the officials will always have the final say. Here's the video of the play:

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