Basketball rules, explained
What each basketball rule says, what it costs you and why it exists, compared across the NBA, WNBA, FIBA, NCAA, wheelchair basketball and 3x3.
Game Basics
- Scoring: How many points a basket is worth.
- Game Length: How long a game lasts and how it’s split up.
- Overtime: What happens when the score is tied at the end.
- Timeouts: How many breaks each team can call.
- The Three-Point Line: How far out the arc is, and why the corner is closer.
- Court and Basket: Court size, lane width and the one number every league agrees on.
- The Ball: Size 7, size 6, and the 3x3 ball that’s a bit of both.
- Players on the Court: Five on five, three on three, and the 14-point rule.
- Jump Ball and Possession Arrow: How the game starts and who gets a tied-up ball.
- Coach’s Challenge: When a coach can ask the referees to check the video.
Handling the Ball
- Traveling: Moving your feet too much while holding the ball.
- Double Dribble: Once you stop dribbling, you can’t start again.
- Carrying: Letting the ball rest in your hand mid-dribble.
- Out of Bounds: The lines are out, and so is the last player who touched it.
- Over and Back: Once you’re over half court, you can’t go back.
- Kicked Ball: Using your foot or fist on purpose.
Counts and Clocks
- Shot Clock: The countdown to get a shot up.
- Backcourt Count: Time limit to get the ball over half court.
- Three Seconds: Attackers can’t camp in the lane.
- Defensive Three Seconds: Defenders can’t park in the lane either. Only in North America.
- Five Seconds Closely Guarded: You can’t just hold the ball with a defender up close.
- Five-Second Throw-In: Five seconds to pass the ball in.
- Free Throws: The shooter’s time limit, and who may move when.
At the Rim
- Goaltending: Blocking a shot that’s already on its way down.
- Basket Interference: Hands off once the ball is on the rim. Depending on where you play.
- Charging: Running into a defender who got there first.
Fouls
- Shooting Foul: How many free throws a fouled shooter gets.
- Team Fouls and the Bonus: When ordinary fouls start giving free throws.
- Fouling Out: How many fouls before you’re out of the game.
- Flagrant Foul: Contact that goes beyond a normal basketball play.
- Technical Foul: A foul for behaviour, not contact.
- Lifting: A wheelchair basketball rule: stay in your seat.