Now that you know some of the basic rules and violations, let’s dive into more of the don’ts of basketball. Fouls are more serious infractions of the rules of basketball. Typically, a player wants to avoid having too many. The limit for each player is five fouls. Once this number is reached, you have “fouled out” and cannot play for the rest of the game – not just the half or quarter, the game. It’s a big deal. Once a player has committed a foul, it goes against the individual and the team. It is a team sport after all.
There is no limit for how many fouls against a team, but there’s a catch. Once the seven fouls are committed by a team, the opponent has a chance to gain extra “free” points in a scenario called one-and-one. This is when a player goes to the foul line for one free throw. If the shot is good, a second is rewarded. If the shot is no good, the ball is up for grabs by either team. Taking a quick step back, there are two types of fouls: on the floor and shooting. Any time a foul is committed while the opponent is shooting the ball, it is a shooting foul and free throws are given. Any foul committed when not shooting is considered on the floor. The exception is when a team hits the seven fouls mark previously mentioned. From that point on, all free throws are given to the player who was fouled.
The second number important to team fouls is 10. Once the number of fouls committed by a team hits 10, their opponent reaches bonus. Instead of one free throw with a possibility of a second, opponents automatically get two free throws. In other words, these are points you want to avoid giving to the other team because sometimes they could make or break a game.
Now there are three classification of fouls: personal, flagrant, and technical. A personal foul is the most common in basketball and occurs when contact between two opposing players is made. It is inevitable for there to be body contact because of all the constant motion in basketball. However, an excessive amount will elicit a personal foul called on a defensive player. One instance when a personal foul can be called on an offensive player is charging. When a player is dribbling down the court to score, a defensive player is allowed to step in the path of the player driving to stop the ball as long as he/she is completely still, hands straight up, and beats the offensive player to the spot. If this happens and the player driving continues on knocking into the defense, a foul will be called on the offense.
The second foul class is flagrant fouls. These are broken down further into flagrant 1 and flagrant 2. Such fouls are when a player acts in a violent manner without the intention of playing defense, and instead using unnecessary contact. These types of fouls are at the discretion of the referees. Flagrant 1 fouls are defined by simply unnecessary contact by a player. If a player receives two of these, he/she will be ejected from the game. Flagrant 2 fouls is defined
as contact that is both unnecessary and excessive. The result of this foul is immediate player ejection.
The final category of fouls is technical fouls. This is unrelated to any physical contact on the basketball court, and instead has to do with sportsmanship. A technical foul can be called on a player in the game, any other player, a coach, or a team in general. Incidents that fall under this category would include any profanity, taunting, delay of game, or conduct towards a referee. Another scenario where a technical is called is if a team has to put in a player who has fouled out, but lacks the number of players for a full team on the court. However, this scenario is rare. When a technical is called, the opposing team gets two free throws without the defense lining up to grab the rebound and gets possession of the ball as well.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed by all these rules yet? It’s okay. Take a deep breath and get ready to start learning the skills you’ll need to dominate the court.
