PEAHM 117
Team Sport (Basketball)
-Rules and regulations
-Responsibilities of Officials
-Hand Signals
Prepared by: Hannalene R. Dolor
BSED-PEAHM
Rules and Regulation of Basketball
The rules of basketball can vary slightly depending on the level of play (for example professional
rules differ from college rules) or where the game is played (international rules are different from
USA professional rules). These rule differences, however, are usually just variations on the basic
game of basketball and the majority of the rules discussed below can be applied to most any
game of basketball played.
The winner of a basketball game is the team with the most points. You get points by throwing the
basketball through the opponent's hoop or basket. In regular play a basket made from within the
three point line is worth 2 points and a basket shot from outside the three point line is worth three
points. When shooting a free throw, each free throw is worth 1 point.
Rules for the offense
The basketball team on offense is the team with the basketball. When a player has the basketball
there are certain rules they must follow:
1) The player must bounce, or dribble, the ball with one hand while moving both feet. If, at any
time, both hands touch the ball or the player stops dribbling, the player must only move one foot.
The foot that is stationary is called the pivot foot.
2) The basketball player can only take one turn at dribbling. In other words, once a player has
stopped dribbling they cannot start another dribble. A player who starts dribbling again is called for
a double-dribbling violation and looses the basketball to the other team. A player can only start
another dribble after another player from either team touches or gains control of the basketball.
This is usually after a shot or pass.
3) The ball must stay in bounds. If the offensive team looses the ball out of bounds the other team
gets control of the basketball.
4) The players hand must be on top of the ball while dribbling. If they touch the bottom of the
basketball while dribbling and continue to dribble this is called carrying the ball and the player will
lose the ball to the other team.
5) Once the offensive team crosses half court, they may not go back into the backcourt. This is
called a backcourt violation. If the defensive team knocks the ball into the backcourt, then the
offensive team can recover the ball legally.
Defensive Rules
The team on defense is the team without the basketball.
1) The main rule for the defensive player is not to foul. A foul is described as gaining an unfair
advantage through physical contact. There is some interpretation that has to be made by the
referee, but, in general, the defensive player may not touch the offensive player in a way that
causes the offensive player to lose the ball or miss a shot.
Rules for everyone
1) Although the foul rule is described above as a defensive rule, it applies exactly the same to all
players on the court including offensive players.
2) Basketball players cannot kick the ball or hit it with their fist.
3) No player can touch the basketball while it is traveling downward towards the basket or if it is on
the rim. This is called goaltending. (touching the ball on the rim is legal in some games).
Every player on the court is subject to the same rules regardless of the position they play. The
positions in basketball are just for team basketball strategy and there are no positions in the rules.
Object of the Game
The object of basketball is to throw the ball (basketball) into a hoop to score points. The game is
played out on a rectangular court and depending on which section of court you successfully throw
a ball into the basket will depend on how many points are scored. The ball can be moved around
the by dribbling or passing the ball. At the end of the game the team with the most points is
declared the winner.
Players & Equipment
Each team is made up of 12 players with only 5 allowed on the court at any time. The positions are
broken up into Point Guard, Defensive Guard, Center, Offensive forward and Defensive Forward.
Each player will then take up a position on the court but are allowed to move around as they
please.
The court is a rectangular shaped and measures 91 feet long and 50 feet wide. There is a halfway
line in which a small circle is found in the centre; this is where the game starts with a tip off (the
ball is thrown in the air by the referee and a player from each team tries to win possession for their
team). At each end of the court are two baskets both 10 feet in height. A three point arc is the
outside ring, whilst in the middle of that is the key which includes a free throw line.
All that is needed to play is a court and basketball. Teams must wear matching strips with some
players choosing to wear gum shields and face masks for protection.
The game is split up into 4 twelve minute quarters. In between the 2 nd and 3rd quarter is a 15
minute half time interval.
Scoring
There are three scoring numbers for basketball players. Any basket scored from outside the three
point arc will result in three points being scored. Baskets scored within the three point arc will
result in two points being scored. Successful free throws will result in 1 point being scored per free
throw. The number of free throws will depend on where the foul was committed.
Winning the Game
Winning a game of basketball is pretty simple; score more points than your opponents in the
allotted game time. If the scores are tied at the end then an extra quarter will be played until a
winner is found.
Other rules of Basketball
Each team can have a maximum of 5 players on the court at any one time. Substitutions
can be made as many times as they wish within the game.
The ball can only be moved by either dribbling (bouncing the ball) or passing the ball. Once
a player puts two hands on the ball (not including catching the ball) they cannot then dribble
or move with the ball and the ball must be passed or shot.
After the ball goes into a team’s half and they win possession back the ball must then make
it back over the half way line within 10 seconds. If the ball fails to do so then a foul will be
called and the ball will be turned over.
Each team has 24 seconds to at least shot at the basket. A shot constitutes either going in
the basket or hitting the rim of the basket. If after the shot is taken and the ball fails to go in
the basket then the shot clock is restarted for another 24 seconds.
The team trying to score a basket is called the offence whilst the team trying to prevent
them from scoring is called the defence. The defence must do all they can to stop the
offence from scoring by either blocking a shot or preventing a shot from being fired.
After each successful basket the ball is then turned over to the opposition.
Fouls committed throughout the game will be accumulated and then when reached a
certain number will be eventually be awarded as a free throw. A free throw involves one
playerfrom the offensive team (the player fouled) to take a shot unopposed from the free
throw line. Depending on where the foul was committed will depend on the number free
throws a player gets.
Violations in basketball include travelling (taking more than one step without bouncing the
ball), double dribble (picking the ball up dribbling, stopping then dribbling again with two
hands), goaltending (a defensive player interferes with the ball travelling downwards
towards the basket) and back court violation (once the ball passes the half way line the
offensive team cannot take the ball back over the half way line).
Responsibilities of officials
The game of basketball is not officiated only by referees, there is a whole group of officials to
manage a game and to keep things on track. The group includes referee, umpires, scorer,
timekeeper and shot clock operator.
Though each official has his own responsibilities but their collective motive is to run a game
smoothly, to ensure the enforcement of rules and to maintain the order of the game. Below is an
overview of the responsibilities of each official.
Referees
Referees are the main officials of the game. They are the ones who are actually responsible for
enforcing rules and regulations and calling fouls and violations. The number of referees officiating
a game depends on the level of play. In NBA, a crew chief and two referees are assigned to
conduct a game and there official uniform is gray shirt and black pant. In international basketball
or NCAA game, it can be either one referee and one umpire or one referee and two umpires
officiate a game. They wear typical black and white stripped shirts and black pants.
Lead Referee
Lead referee (also known as crew chief in NBA) is the in charge of the game. Normally, all two or
three referees are independent in terms of making their decisions but in case of a dispute, it’s the
lead referee whose verdict is considered final.
Scorers
Scorer play supportive role in the game of the basketball. There can be one or two scorers in a
game depending on the rules of the league and their job is to write down the stats relevant to the
game. They keep a running summary of points scored, notify field goals and free throws made and
missed. They also record the fouls called on each player and informs a referee if sixth fouls is
called against a player (to eject him from game). Also notes the timeouts and let the referee knows
if all timeouts have been used up by a team.
Timers
Timer assists referee in recording time. Generally, two timers are appointed by the league. One is
official timer who operates the game clock and the other is shot clock operator who operates 24
second clock. Official timer alerts referee when each half is going to start and stops the clock
when any kind of interruption occurs during a game (fouls, out of bounds, timeouts etc) while shot
clock timer informs referee when a player takes 24 or more seconds to shoot a ball (keeping the
ball in possession for 24 seconds or more is a violation).
Hand Signals
Five second violation
Walking or traveling
(not bouncing the ball while walking)
Ten seconds (taking more than 10 seconds to get
Illegal or double dribble the ball over half court)
Carrying or Palming the ball Kicking (intentionally kicking the ball)
Over and back (half-court violation)
Three seconds (offensive player is in the lane or key
for more than 3 seconds)
Referee Basketball Foul Signals
Hand check Charging or player control foul
Holding Intentional foul
Technical foul or "T" (generally for
Blocking misconduct or unsportsmanlike behavior)
Pushing
Other Referee Signals
No Score
Jump Ball
30 second time out Start clock
Three point attempt
Stop clock
Three point score
References:
https://basketball91.com/coaching/guidelines-on-how-
to-officiate-basketball-game/index.html
https://www.ducksters.com/sports/basketballrules.php
https://www.allaboutbasketball.us/basketball-
wiki/officials-in-basketball-game.html
