BASKETBALL RULES
There are a lot of rules in basketball and they can also differ between FIBA, NCAA and the NBA. Use these links to help educate yourself on the rules. Also included are the FIBA 3v3 rules.
FIBA 2022 Rules: https://www.fiba.basketball/documents/official-basketball-rules/2022.pdf
FIBA Rules Differences: https://s3.amazonaws.com/my.llfiles.com/00233393/FIBA-Rule-Differences-Explained-OCEAA.pdf
OBA Rules & Regulations: https://basketball.on.ca/competitions/rules-regulations/
FIBA 3V3 Rules: https://fiba3x3.com/en/rules.html
OBA 3V3 Rules: 
Basketball Rules
● Traveling Violation
o A travel occurs when a player in possession of the ball lifts their pivot foot off of the ground and brings it back down to the ground while maintaining possession of the ball.
o A travel also occurs when the pivot foot is lifted off of the ground before starting a dribble. Note: This means a player cannot jump and then begin dribbling before they return to the ground.
o In FIBA they adopted the "0" step or gather step similar to the NBA. So a traditional travelling call still seen in NCAA basketball may not be a travel in OBA which uses FIBA rules. https://youtu.be/-3h9lnbqm0k . Also a good breakdown here of allowing yourself to come to a stop after a gather step and still be allowed to pivot off a two foot stop and drive (also in YouTube video at 2:30).
● Fumbling
o A player cannot travel without having possession of the ball.
o A player can pick up the ball after they fumble/lose the ball. Whether or not they can dribble again depends on whether or not the defense touched it. If the defense did not touch the ball, the offensive player cannot dribble the ball again.
o The batting of a ball does not constitute player control. A player may batt the ball and be the first to recover it as well.
● Airballed Shot
o As long as a player made an honest attempt to shoot the ball, that same player may be the first to touch their own airball and may even begin dribbling again.
● Backcourt Violation
o Frontcourt status does not occur until the left foot, right foot and ball are all completely established over the half-court line at the same time.
o There are no backcourt violations on out of bounds plays (NBA, NCAA but not FIBA) or offensive rebounding backtaps.
● Kick Ball Violation
o A kick ball violation occurs when a player intentionally contacts the ball with any part of their body below the waist.
● Three Second Violation
o The offensive three second count (inside the paint) resets on all shot attempts. ● Five Second Closely Guarded Count
o The five second closely guarded count resets when an offensive player gets their shoulder and chest past the defensive player, begins or ends a dribble or retreats to a point where there is more than six feet between them and the defender.
● Free Throw Violation
o The players between the lane lines can cross the plane when the shooter releases the ball.
o The shooter and the players behind them (behind the 3-point line) must wait until the ball hits the rim to cross their respective plane.
o Note: A defender who is boxing out the shooter may not cross the shooter’s plane until the attempt hits the rim (because the shooter is not live until that point).
● Spot Out of Bounds
o When an inbounder has a spot, they can go as far backwards as they would like. They can also go 1.5 feet to their left and 1.5 feet to their right. An inbounder is not bound to dribbling rules (meaning there are no dribbling violations).
● Off-Ball Player Going Out of Bounds
o A player may go out of bounds and be the first to touch the ball when they return as long as that player has both feet fully established back on the court before touching it.
● Backboard
o All sides of the backboard (top, sides and bottom) are in bounds.
o If the ball travels from the front side of the backboard to the back side (or vice versa) even without touching the backboard, it shall be ruled out of bounds.
● Blocking Foul
o A player attempting to block/alter a shot is entitled to the plane between the floor and the ceiling. If a defender jumps outwards into an airborne shooter (they are considered a shooter until they land), then the shooter should be awarded a shooting foul. Teach players to get to the spot early and then jump straight up (not outwards).
● Late Game Fouling Situations
o Teach players to go for the ball in late game fouling situations (and make sure the contact is not “excessive”). If a player wraps up someone or pushes them without going for the ball, it may be called an intentional foul.
● Technical Free Throw Shooter
o A coach can sub any player in after an opposing team’s technical foul to shoot the free throws and then sub them out again before live play begins.
● Hand Is Part of The Ball
o The Hand is considered part of the ball when it is in contact with the ball.
o The defender high fiving the shooter on a shot attempt is not considered a foul.
o The defender slapping/holding the hand of a shooter on a layup attempt is not considered a foul.
o Situation: Player A and Player B go up to grab a rebound. Player A hits Player B’s hand (not the ball) and the ball goes out of bounds. This is still off of Player A even though they never physically touched the ball. Team B will be awarded a throw in.
● Incidental Contact
o Not all Contact is a foul. Contact that does not hinder the opponent from participating in normal offensive or defensive movements shall be considered incidental.
● Injured Player
o If a trainer or coach comes on to the court to check on a player who is injured, that player must come out of the game for at least one possession. However, the coach may use a timeout to get this player back in the game.
Things Not to Say to a Referee (although some refs might say it…)
● “Over the back” and “reach in”
o These are things are not inherently illegal. A player may go over someone’s back or reach in without displacing or illegally contacting the opponent. If there is illegal contact, the appropriate calls would instead be something like a “push” or a “handcheck.”
● “He/she lifted their pivot foot”
o Lifting your pivot foot is legal (as long as it wasn’t to start a dribble). Most players lift their pivot foot to shoot and sometimes pass (and that is completely legal).
● “He/she was still moving” (so it has to be a blocking foul)
o A player can be moving and take a charge. A player can be stationary and be called for a block. For simplicity purposes, the defender must be fully in front of and facing the offensive player with two feet on the ground. Once they are in this “legal guarding position,” they may move laterally to maintain legal guarding position in order to draw a charge. Look for where the contact occurs on the defender’s body in order to help determine if the defender was in legal guarding position.
● “That foul is on the floor” (not a shooting foul)
o An offensive player may be awarded a shooting foul even if they never leave the floor. It all depends on whether the player gathered the ball to shoot before/while contact was made. Use the terms “shooting foul” and “non-shooting foul” instead.
● “That was a late call”
o There is rarely a late call. Refs are taught to be patient and see the play through (in order to not anticipate calls). If an offensive player can play through some contact that could lead to a more advantageous situation, then the ref may allow that to happen and call something a second later if that player loses possession.
