Rules of basketball
Most leagues or governing bodies in North America, the most important of which are the National Basketball Association and NCAA, formulate their own rules.
On 15 January 1892, James Naismith published his rules for the game of "Basket Ball" that he invented:[1] The original game played under these rules was quite different from the one played today as there was no dribbling, dunking, three-pointers, or shot clock, and goal tending was legal.
When the normal length is 48 minutes (this is the case with the National Basketball Association in the United States and Canada) a player is accordingly disqualified on his sixth foul.
This rule prohibits offensive players from remaining near their opponents' basket for longer than three seconds (the precise restricted area is also known as the lane or the key).
Because of this game and others, 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Kentucky All-American center Leroy Edwards is generally recognized as the player responsible for the three-second rule.
While the rule was originally adopted to reduce roughness in the area between big men, it is now considered to prevent tall offensive players from gaining an advantage by waiting close to the basket.
In 2003 the rule was changed so that the ball remains live in this situation, as long as it touched the rim.
Running with the ball ceased to be considered a foul in 1922, and became a violation, meaning that the only penalty was loss of possession.
One free throw shot is awarded to a player who was fouled while making a successful field goal attempt.
Blocking fouls are easily called when the defensive player is standing in the "restricted zone".
[3] Restricted zone: In 1997, the NBA introduced an arc of a 4-foot (1.2 m) radius around the basket, in which an offensive foul for charging could not be assessed.
This was to prevent defensive players from attempting to draw an offensive foul on their opponents by standing underneath the basket.
A technical foul can be given when a team calls more time outs than they have, delaying the game, have too many players on the court, verbally disrespect or curse, or hang on the rim.
With a technical foul, the opposing team will be rewarded with a free throw, and possession of the ball as well.
The use of video evidence to inform referee's decisions has always been banned, except in the case of determining whether or not the last shot of a period was attempted before time expired.
The NCAA, however, has permitted instant replay for timing, the value of a field goal (two or three points), shot clock violations, and for purposes of disqualifying players because of unsportsmanlike conduct.
The NBA changed its rules starting in 2007 to allow officials the ability to view instant replay with plays involving flagrant fouls, similar to the NCAA.
In 1976, the NBA introduced a rule to allow teams to advance the ball to the center line following any legal time-out in the final two minutes of the game.
The most recent international rules of basketball were approved 2 February 2014 by FIBA and became effective 1 October of that year.
The rules also cover officials' signals, the scoresheet, protest procedure, classification of teams and television timeouts.
