Rules on Bounce Scores in Basketball

Over the course of a basketball game, players can score in a variety of different ways. One of the most unusual occurs when a player either purposefully or accidentally makes a basket by bouncing the ball so hard that it ricochets off the floor and into the basket. Who bounced the ball, where they bounced it from, and which hoop they bounced it into determines whether the basket will count or not.

  1. Basket Made During Regular Play

    • According to NBA rules, "a legal field goal or free throw attempt shall be scored when a live ball from the playing area enters the basket from above and remains in or passes through the net." This can include bounce shots.

    Own Basket Shot

    • Players may not attempt a shot at their own basket with a penalty of loss of possession for each instance. If a player inadvertently bounces a shot into their own basket, the score counts for his opponents and the player closest to him on the opposing team will be awarded credit for the basket.

    From Out of Bounds

    • A player may not attempt to bounce a shot in when throwing a pass in from out of bounds. On any inbound play, a player on the court must touch the basketball before it can be allowed for a made basket to count.

    On A Free Throw

    • When a player is shooting a foul shot, the ball must touch the rim after it leaves the shooters hand. As such, if an attempt hits the ground or is touched by a player before it hits the rim, it is a violation resulting in loss of the shot as would happen on any foul-shooting violation.

    Scoring

    • If a player makes a shot after bouncing it off the ground and into the hoop, the player who was closest to it when it bounced off the ground would be awarded two points as the ball would be considered a loose ball after it left the bouncer's hands and the rule would revert to the rules of scoring in loose ball situations, just as when a player scores on his own team.