Basketball Rules of the Game

Lessons

Senior 6 · Physical Education

Basketball Rules of the Game

5 lessons

Lesson 2 of 5

Violations: movement, time and the ball

25 min

Why a team cannot simply keep the ball

Imagine a team that leads by one point with a minute left. Why does it not just pass the ball around until the end? Because basketball runs on clocks: 5 seconds to throw in, 8 seconds to cross the centre line, 24 seconds to shoot, 5 seconds when closely guarded and no more than 3 seconds in the opponents' restricted area. Add the rules on how a player may move with the ball, and you have the violations of Articles 22 to 31 of the FIBA Official Basketball Rules 2026. Every violation has the same basic penalty: the opponents get the ball for a throw-in from the place nearest the infraction, except directly behind the backboard.

Definition

Violation: an infraction of the rules that is not a foul (no illegal contact or unsporting behaviour is involved).

Pivot foot: the foot that stays at its point of contact with the floor while a player holding the ball steps with the other foot.

Gather: the moment a moving player gains control of the ball and it comes to rest in the hand or hands; steps are counted from here.

Closely guarded: a player holding the ball while an opponent is in an active, legal guarding position no more than 1 m away.

Goaltending: touching a shot that is completely above the ring while it is on its way down, or after it has touched the backboard.

Moving with the ball: travelling and dribbling

Catching while standing on both feet: the moment one foot is lifted, the other is the pivot foot. To start a dribble, the ball must leave the hand before the pivot foot is lifted. To pass or shoot, the player may jump off the pivot foot but must release the ball before landing.
Catching while moving or ending a dribble: the player may take two steps to stop, pass or shoot. The first step is the first foot (or both feet) to touch the floor after the gather; a foot already on the floor at the gather does not count. To start a dribble, the ball must be released before the second step.
A player may not touch the floor consecutively with the same foot after ending a dribble, and may not roll over or stand up while holding the ball.
Illegal dribble: dribbling a second time after the first dribble has ended (double dribble) is a violation unless the player has lost control because of a shot, a touch by an opponent, or a pass or fumble that touched another player. Carrying means placing the hand under the ball and carrying it, or bringing it to a pause and dribbling again.
The ball is played with the hands only: deliberately kicking it, blocking it with the leg or striking it with the fist is a violation. Accidental contact with the leg is not.

Worked example

Worked example 1: counting steps on a drive. Dribbling to the basket, A7 gathers the ball while her right foot is on the floor.

The right foot was already down at the gather, so it is not a step (a "zero step").
Left foot lands: step 1. Right foot lands: step 2. She jumps off the right foot and releases a lay-up before landing: legal.
Had she landed on the left foot again before releasing the ball, that would be a third step: travelling, throw-in to Team B from the nearest place.

Time violations

Rule	The limit	Notes
3 seconds	An attacker may not stay in the opponents' restricted area for more than 3 consecutive seconds while his or her team controls a live ball in the frontcourt and the clock runs	Allowance for a player leaving the area, or shooting; both feet must be outside to be "out"
Closely guarded	Pass, shoot or dribble within 5 seconds	Defender within 1 m in an active, legal guarding position
Throw-in	Release within 5 seconds	Counted from when the ball is at the thrower's disposal
8 seconds	Bring the ball into the frontcourt within 8 seconds of gaining control in the backcourt	A dribbler is in the frontcourt when the ball and both feet touch it
Shot clock	Attempt a shot within 24 seconds: the ball must leave the hand before the signal and then touch the ring or enter the basket	If the signal sounds with the ball in the air and the ball then misses the ring, it is a violation (unless the opponents gain clear control)
Free throw	Release within 5 seconds	Shooter stays behind the line until the ball touches the ring

Ball returned to the backcourt. Once a team controls the ball in its frontcourt, it may not be the last to touch the ball there and then be the first to touch it in the backcourt. The opponents take the penalty throw-in in their own frontcourt, from the place nearest the infraction.

Resetting the shot clock

After the ball touches the ring: 24 s if the opponents gain control; 14 s if the same team rebounds.
Throw-in to the opponents after a foul or violation by the team in control: 24 s from the backcourt, 14 s from the frontcourt.
Throw-in to the same team after a foul or violation by the defence (not a ball out of bounds): 24 s in the backcourt; in the frontcourt the clock keeps its time if it shows 14 s or more, or is reset to 14 s if it shows 13 s or less.
Ball knocked out of bounds by the defence: the shot clock simply continues.

Worked example

Worked example 2: what does the shot clock show? Team A is attacking in its frontcourt.

Shot clock 10 s; B5 deliberately kicks the ball. Defensive violation, throw-in to Team A in the frontcourt, 13 s or less showing: reset to 14 s.
Shot clock 18 s; B5 kicks the ball. 14 s or more showing: continue from 18 s.
Shot clock 6 s; B5 knocks the ball out of bounds. Out-of-bounds is not a reset situation: continue from 6 s.
Shot clock 3 s; A4's shot hits the ring and A9 grabs the rebound: reset to 14 s.

The ball and the basket

Out of bounds: a player is out when touching the floor on or outside the boundary line; the ball is out when it touches such a player, the floor or anything on or outside the line, the back of the backboard or its supports. The last player to touch it before it goes out causes it to go out.
Goaltending (field goal): touching the ball while it is completely above the ring and either on its downward flight or after touching the backboard. On a free throw, any touch while the ball is in flight towards the basket.
Basket interference: touching the ring or backboard while the ball is on the ring, reaching up through the basket, touching the ball while it is inside the basket, or making the ring vibrate so that the ball goes in or out.
Penalties: by a defender, the points are awarded (1, 2 or 3 as the shot deserved); by an attacker, no points and a throw-in to the opponents from the free-throw line extended.

Video: "FIBA Signals: Violations", Referee University. Practise each violation signal (travelling, double dribble, carrying, 3, 5, 8 and 24 seconds, backcourt) until you can show it without thinking.

Tip

Coaching the clocks. Teach the habit "catch, face the basket, decide": a player who catches and turns at once sees the pass before a defender closes to 1 m, and avoids both the 5-second count and a hurried travel.

Warning

Common mistakes. The number of steps has nothing to do with whether a player is in the act of shooting. A ball that rolls out of a player's hands and is picked up again is a fumble, not a dribble. A ball touching a referee is the same as touching the floor where the referee stands. A shot that hits only the backboard when the shot clock sounds is still a shot-clock violation, because it did not touch the ring (unless the opponents at once gain clear control of the ball).

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Practice

What is the basic penalty for any violation, and where is the throw-in taken?
A player catches a pass while standing on both feet, lifts the right foot and then begins a dribble. Which foot must stay down until the ball is released?
A dribbler stops, holds the ball, then dribbles again. Name the violation. When would a second dribble be legal?
A6 stands in the opponents' restricted area for 2 seconds, receives the ball and dribbles in to shoot. Is it a 3-second violation?
Team A gains control in its backcourt with 24 s on the shot clock. A guard dribbles over the centre line after 9 seconds. Decision?
With 16 s on the shot clock in Team A's frontcourt, B3 commits a violation by kicking the ball. What does the shot clock show for the throw-in?
A defender blocks a 3-point shot after it has hit the backboard and while it is above the ring. How many points are awarded?
A coach says "two steps after the dribble means three foot contacts are fine." Evaluate this claim using the gather rule.

Show answersHide answers

The ball goes to the opponents for a throw-in from the place nearest the infraction, except directly behind the backboard.
The left foot: it became the pivot foot when the right was lifted.
Double dribble (illegal dribble). Legal only if the player lost control because of a shot, a touch by an opponent, or a pass or fumble that touched another player.
No: allowance is made for a player who dribbles in to shoot after being there less than 3 seconds.
8-second violation: throw-in to Team B.
16 s: 14 s or more was showing, so it continues.
3 points: goaltending by a defender awards the points the shot would have scored.
Only partly true. A foot that is already on the floor at the gather is not counted, so a player can touch the floor three times (zero step, step 1, step 2). But if the gather happens while the player is in the air, the first landing is step 1, and a third landing before release is travelling.

Remember

Violation = ball to the opponents, throw-in at the nearest place (not behind the backboard).
Two steps after the gather; the pivot foot stays down until the ball leaves the hand on a dribble.
3 s restricted area; 5 s closely guarded, throw-in and free throw; 8 s to the frontcourt; 24 s to shoot.
Shot clock: 24 to the new team, 14 after an offensive rebound or a frontcourt throw-in; continues after a defensive out-of-bounds.
Goaltending by a defender scores the basket; by an attacker cancels it.

Sources and credits

Official Basketball Rules 2026 (version 1.1, July 2026), FIBA: Articles 13, 17 and 22 to 31 and 44 summarised, not copied.
Photo: Basketball training after Covid-19 lockdown in Rwanda, Claude Nizeyimana, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Video: "FIBA Signals: Violations", Referee University, embedded from YouTube.
Time-limits diagram, tables, worked examples and practice: written by Ganzaa.

This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1Why a team cannot simply keep the ball

2Moving with the ball: travelling and dribbling

3Time violations

4Resetting the shot clock

5The ball and the basket

Why a team cannot simply keep the ball

Moving with the ball: travelling and dribbling

Time violations

Resetting the shot clock

The ball and the basket