LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.— Kyle Lowry likes to give the finger. Luka Doncic, too. Montrezl Harrell has been known to give his coach the finger. Daniel Theis regularly gives it to his. Chris Paul—he can’t stop.
The finger—the index twirl players will give in the direction of the bench, the signal of a player’s desire to challenge a call—has become as common as whistles and substitutions. Last summer, the NBA approved a change to its replay rules. Every game, teams would get one coach’s challenge that could be used to dispute fouls, out-of-bounds and goaltending violations. It’s a rule the G League had used the previous two seasons, with success.