Traveling
Also known as: Travelling, Walking, Steps
Moving your feet too much while holding the ball.
The rule
While holding the ball you may pivot, which means stepping with one foot while the other (the pivot foot) stays on the floor. Catching the ball on the move or finishing a dribble, you get two steps to stop, pass or shoot. Lifting your pivot foot and putting it back down before you pass or shoot is a travel.
The penalty
The ball goes to the other team for a throw-in (a check-ball in 3x3).
The reason
James Naismith’s first rules in 1891 didn’t let players run with the ball at all. He wanted a game without the tackling of rugby and football, so a player with the ball had to pass or shoot. Every travel rule since grows out of that idea.
Around the leagues
- 2 steps after the gather: NBA, WNBA, FIBA, 3x3. The step on which you catch or gather the ball doesn’t count. This is the “zero step”.
- Pivot-foot rules: NCAA M, NCAA W. No separate gather step in the book: the first foot down after the catch becomes the pivot foot.
- 2 pushes: Wheelchair. Two pushes on the wheels while holding the ball. A third push without dribbling is a travel.
Related: Double Dribble, Carrying