Offense Rules in Basketball

Shot Clock

• As soon as a team gains possession of the ball, it becomes the offensive team, and the shot clock starts. The shot clock is a timer that provides the offense with a certain number of seconds to shoot the ball. If it does not shoot within that time, the other team gains possession. In the NCAA (college ball), a men's team has 35 seconds to shoot and and a women's team has 30 seconds. In the NBA (professional ball), teams have 24 seconds in which to shoot. As soon as a person gains control of the ball after it has hit the rim, the shot clock will reset and start again. As an example, suppose the shot clock is down to six seconds when a person shoots in an NBA game, and the ball does not go through the hoop but hits the rim. If a teammate rebounds the ball, the shot clock is set to 24 seconds again.

Fouls

• A few fouls can be committed only by the offense. One is charging. When a defensive player has established his position and the offensive player runs into the defensive player, this is called a charging foul, and the offense loses possession. Another offensive foul is setting a moving screen. Some plays call for an offensive player to stand near a defensive player and block his path so a teammate with the ball can move past the blocked defender. This is called a screen. The player without the ball must remain still or he will be called for setting a moving screen. Flagrant fouls are charged when a person elbows or punches a player on the other team, and technical fouls are charged for non-game infractions such as excessive complaining to the referees. Flagrant and technical fouls can be called on offensive and defensive players.

Violations

• Violations on the offense result in the other team getting possession of the ball. One offensive violation is the double dribble, which is when a player stops his dribble, then starts dribbling again. If the ball is knocked out of his hands and he retrieves it, he can dribble again. Travelling is another offensive violation. This is when a player takes more than one step with the ball without dribbling. A backcourt violation occurs when the offense has brought the ball past the halfcourt line, then allows the ball to go back across the halfcourt line during the same possession. Also, the ball must be advanced past the halfcourt line in eight seconds or less in the NBA (10 seconds or less in the NCAA) or the offense will be called for a violation. An offensive player cannot be in the key area (a rectangular area between the foul line and the end line) for more than three seconds at a time or he will be called for a three-second violation.

Free Throws

• Free throws are awarded to an offensive player who is fouled by a defensive player when the defensive team has committed more than a certain number of fouls in a quarter (NBA) or a half (NCAA). An offensive player is awarded free throws at any stage of the game if he is fouled while in the act of shooting. The shooter gets as many free-throw attempts as the shot he was attempting, either a two-point shot or three-point shot. If a player makes a shot while fouled, he will get one free throw in addition to getting credit for the basket. When shooting a free throw, a shooter cannot step over the free-throw line until the shot hits the rim or is made.