Old school basketball rules are the foundation upon which basketball rules were developed. Created in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith, basketball originally consisted of 13 major rules that restricted players and defined the game. Although there are many old school basketball rules that remain in modern era basketball, several that have fallen by the wayside. Rules on dunking, shooting and court measurements have all been modified in recent years to make the game more exciting and engaging for fans.
Foul Points
This foul point rule awards the other team with a point if consecutive fouls are made. Although this rule is no longer a part of current basketball, it can still be used in drills and practices to help sharpen defensive skills. If a player on offense is dribbling down the court and is physically fouled by a player, the play will stop and the ball will have to be brought back into play from the sideline. If any other player on the offensive team gets fouled before a change of possession, then one point will be awarded to this team. While in modern era basketball, teams would go to the free throw line to shoot foul shots, old school basketball automatically awards a point to the offensive team.
Scoring
This scoring rule awards you with one point after making a basket stay in the net for an indefinite amount of time. Old school basketball rims were made with nets that had a narrow base, preventing the basketball from going through. Although a current score is when a ball goes clean through the net, an old school basketball point only counts if the ball stays within the net after a shot. If the ball happens to pop out of the net the basket does not count. This rule slows down game play, in that you must hit the ball out of the net after every score. As a result, it was eliminated in recent years to make way for faster game play.
Duration of Play
This old school basketball rule allots a specific amount of time for each half of each game. According to James Naismith's original rules, a basketball game should be divided into two 15-minute halves. In addition, players should be able to rest between the two halves for a total of 5 minutes. Although College basketball still upholds the two halves rule, the NBA is broken down into four quarters. The games are longer and the halftime breaks are longer as well. Despite this, the original ruling is still used for youth basketball games and for kids who want to play shorter games with fewer breaks.
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