The G League will experiment with a new rule that will render trips to the free-throw line to include only a single foul shot that could be worth one, two, or three points depending on the nature of the foul leading to the attempt, according to ESPN's Zach Lowe.

The NBA is hoping this test stage will help speed up the game and cut between six and eight minutes off each G League game, according to G League head of basketball operations Brad Walker.

Walker said that the average G League game clocked in at about two hours and five minutes last season. This new provision could now push the total game time below the two-hour mark, which could give broadcasters a clean window of expectancy.

However, he G League will revert back to traditional free-throw rules for the last two minutes of play and also overtime.

The NBA competition committee had discussed this concept in the past, but it never had quite the momentum to bring the idea to fruition. While there is expected to be plenty of pushback, as it challenges the conventional rules of the game, the hope is that this change doles out more benefits, allowing the league to commercialize the game more efficiently while speeding up the game:

“We don't know how big of a deal it will be at the G League level until we try it,” Walker said. “We might hear some blowback on that, but I think [the change] is going to be great for game flow.”

The one-shot rule could increase the likelihood of late-game fouls (before the two-minute mark) resulting in no points, which is suitable for comebacks, though it would also negate the potential 1-for-2 splits that give the trailing team some hope.