NBA coaches are winning 73% of their challenges, up from 63.6% last season, as three of every four foul challenges succeed

NBA coaches are winning their challenges far more often than they did a year ago. Through the first 43 games of the 2026-27 regular season, played from Oct. 20 to Oct. 25, teams used 82 coach’s challenges and won 60 of them, a 73.2% success rate, according to the league’s official challenge log, which was last updated on Wednesday, Oct. 28.

Last season, coaches won 1,146 of 1,803 challenges, or 63.6%, across the full 1,230-game regular season. The jump comes almost entirely from foul calls, and it is happening in a season when the league has asked referees to watch more closely for flopping and other theatrics, as we covered in our story on the five flopping technicals of Oct. 27.

Foul challenges are working three times out of four

Type of challenge	2026-27 through Oct. 25	2025-26 regular season
Called foul	43 of 58 (74.1%)	673 of 1,172 (57.4%)
Out of bounds	16 of 23 (69.6%)	447 of 586 (76.3%)
Goaltending or basket interference	1 of 1	Small sample
All challenges	60 of 82 (73.2%)	1,146 of 1,803 (63.6%)

Last season, out-of-bounds challenges were the safer bet. This season, so far, foul challenges are. A successful foul challenge does not always mean the referees should have called the foul on the other team. In 26 of the 60 wins, the replay center ruled the whistle inadvertent. That takes the foul off the board, and possession is then settled based on where the ball was when the whistle blew, sometimes with a jump ball. Nine more turned a defensive foul into an offensive foul, and six went the other way.

Teams also seem to be challenging more often. The 82 challenges in 43 games work out to about 1.9 a game, compared with about 1.5 a game last season. Every team gets one challenge per game and a second only if the first one works, so more successes also mean more chances to challenge again.

The fourth quarter is still harder

Coaches won 44 of 53 challenges, or 83%, in the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter they won 16 of 29, or 55.2%. That fits what happened last season, when success rates fell as games went on. Early in a game, coaches can save their challenge for a call that looks clearly wrong on replay. Late in a close game, they sometimes have to gamble on a call that could decide the result.

Seven challenges came in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter. Four worked: the Knicks won an out-of-bounds call with 49.8 seconds left on opening night against Philadelphia, Oklahoma City had a foul wiped out as an inadvertent whistle with 1:14 left in San Antonio, Golden State had a foul call at the Lakers changed to a jump ball with 1:59 left, and Atlanta had an offensive foul against it ruled an inadvertent whistle with 39.8 seconds left against Houston, keeping the ball. The three that failed were by Orlando against Atlanta, Milwaukee against Chicago and New Orleans in Utah.

Dallas is 5-for-5

Dallas, which had the lowest challenge success rate in the league last season, has won all five of its challenges so far, the most of any team without a miss. Golden State is 4-for-4. Charlotte, Cleveland and Houston are each 3-for-3, and Boston, Atlanta, Sacramento and Detroit are each 2-for-2.

San Antonio and Oklahoma City have each won four of five, and Utah three of five. New Orleans is 0-for-2, while Portland and Milwaukee have each lost their only challenge. Minnesota, which won the most challenges in the league last season, is 1-for-3.

Preseason was a different story

The same log covers the preseason, and there coaches were barely better than a coin flip. From Oct. 5 to Oct. 16, teams won 40 of 74 challenges, or 54.1%. Like the regular-season figures, those are small samples, and early-season rates often settle as more games are played. Still, the first week pushed the overall rate well above last season’s 63.6%.

What comes next

The league updates the challenge log a few times a week, along with the Last Two Minute reports for close games. For how those reports grade the referees, see our breakdown of the Cavaliers-Timberwolves report. For how the early-season numbers compare with past years on fouls, turnovers and threes, see our look at the first 68 games. Follow every league-wide story on our Around the league page.