Flagrant foul

The National Basketball Association (NBA) established the flagrant foul to deter contact that, in addition to being against the rules, puts an opponent's safety or health at risk.

[1] Starting with the 1990–91 season, the offended team also retains possession of the ball after the free throws for the flagrant foul.

[1] During the NBA playoffs, suspensions of one or two games are meted out for every penalty point a player accrues above a total of three.

[3] It is an accepted basketball strategy for a trailing team to commit fouls intentionally late in a game, in an attempt to regain possession of the ball while minimizing how much time elapses on the game clock.

In this context, the flagrant foul rule deters undesired, potentially injurious play by awarding possession of the ball to the offended team as an extra penalty.

The only exception is in the case of a double unsportsmanlike foul; no free throws are awarded in such a situation.

The NCAA's Playing Rules Oversight Panel adopted the "flagrant" term before the 2011-12 season for both men's and women's basketball.

The word "flagrant" itself is defined in Rule 2: Definitions; 2-16c calls it "a foul so severe or extreme that it places an opponent in danger of serious injury, and/or involves violations that are extremely or persistently vulgar or abusive conduct."