Official Basketball Rules On Fouls

In basketball, fouls involve the violation of certain rules of the game, usually having to do with physical contact with players on the other team. Unlike regular violations, the rules of basketball penalize players individually for fouls as well as the team as a whole over the course of the whole game.

Contact Fouls

Contact fouls involve illegal contact with another player, with or without the ball. Most fouls are committed by defensive players while in contact with the player with the ball. A block, for example, is a player using his body to impede the forward progress of the player with the ball. Illegal use of the hands involves slapping, chopping or hitting the arms or body of a player. The pushing foul is called for players who extend their arms in an effort to displace a player on the opposite team.

Personal Fouls

A player who commits a contact foul is issued a personal foul. Other personal fouls include technical fouls, such as berating or taunting another player or official, or a flagrant foul for excessive contact, including throwing a punch. In college and high school basketball, players are disqualified after receiving five personal fouls. In the National Basketball Association, a player is disqualified after receiving six personal fouls.

Team Fouls and Bonus

Each personal foul issued to a player also counts as a team foul for that player's team. In high school and college basketball, team fouls accrue over the course of each half. When a team commits its seventh, eighth and ninth team foul, the opposing team is awarded bonus free throws to be shot by the player who was fouled. The offended player shoots one free throw. If the player misses, the ball is live and may be rebounded by either team. If the player makes the free throw, she is awarded another bonus free throw. This rule is commonly known as "one-and-one." Upon 10 or more team fouls, the player is awarded two automatic free throws. In the NBA, each team is allowed four team fouls per quarter. Every team foul after that point in the quarter results in a one-and-one for the opposing team. A team can also commit a team foul through technical fouls, such as failing to provide the scorer with the proper information before the game, or for unsportsmanlike conduct by the coach.