Key takeaways
- Sort every whistle into one of two boxes: a violation costs the ball, while a foul can also give the other team free throws.
- Watch the shot clock as well as the game clock: a team has 24 seconds to get a shot onto the rim, and an offensive rebound off the rim resets it to 14.
- Count steps from the gather, not from the catch: after gathering the ball a moving player may take two steps to stop, pass or shoot.
- Check which rulebook a game uses before arguing a call, because quarter length, foul limits, timeouts and goaltending differ between the NBA and FIBA.
- Learn the team-foul count early: from the fifth team foul in a quarter, defensive fouls send the other team to the free-throw line.
Basketball's rules come down to four ideas. Two teams of five try to put the ball through the opponent's ring. A basket is worth one, two or three points. Two clocks limit how long a game, and each possession, can last. And every whistle is either a violation, which hands the ball to the other team, or a foul, which can also hand them free throws.
This guide takes those ideas in the order a first-time viewer meets them. Professional figures come from the NBA's Official Rules for 2025-26, the latest edition the league had published when this was written on 2 October 2026; check the league's rulebook page for any 2026-27 changes. International figures come from FIBA's Official Basketball Rules 2026, valid from 1 October 2026.
The basics in both rulebooks
| NBA (Official Rules 2025-26) | FIBA (Official Basketball Rules 2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Players on court per team | 5 | 5 |
| Playing time | 4 quarters of 12 minutes | 4 quarters of 10 minutes |
| Overtime | 5 minutes, repeated until the tie breaks | 5 minutes, repeated until the tie breaks |
| Shot clock | 24 seconds | 24 seconds |
| Three-point line | 23 ft 9 in arc; 22 ft in the corners | 6.75 m arc; corner lines 0.90 m in from the sidelines |
| Fouls before a player must leave | 6 personal fouls | 5 fouls |
| Team timeouts | 7 in regulation, 2 per overtime | 2 in the first half, 3 in the second, 1 per overtime |
Many arguments about a call come from applying one column's rule to a game played under the other.
Scoring: one, two or three
A basket counts when the ball enters the ring from above and stays in or drops through. Shots from inside the three-point line are worth two. Shots from behind it are worth three, and each free throw is worth one.
The line itself is where beginners get caught out. In the NBA, the shooter needs a foot on the floor behind the line and must not be touching it before the shot; landing on or inside it after releasing the ball is fine. Under FIBA's rules the line belongs to the two-point area, so a shooter standing on it scores two.
One oddity is worth knowing: in both rulebooks, if a missed free throw is tipped in, the basket counts two points, not one.
The two clocks
The game clock
The NBA plays four 12-minute quarters with 15 minutes at half-time; FIBA plays four 10-minute quarters, also with a 15-minute half-time interval. The clock stops whenever an official blows the whistle. In the NBA it also stops after made baskets in the last minute of the first three quarters and the last two minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime, which is why the end of a close game takes so long in real time.
Timeouts work differently in the two books, as the table shows. In the NBA a player on the court or the head coach can request one; under FIBA rules only the head coach or first assistant coach can.
The shot clock
The shot clock is the reason possessions have a rhythm. A team that gains possession has 24 seconds to attempt a shot, and for the attempt to count, the ball must leave the shooter's hand before the clock expires and then touch the rim or go in. An airball as the clock runs out is a violation.
The clock resets to 24 when possession changes. When the attacking team rebounds its own shot after it has touched the rim, both rulebooks reset the clock to 14 seconds rather than 24, so an offensive rebound buys a second chance but not a whole new possession.
Violations: the whistles that cost you the ball
A violation stops play and gives the ball to the other team. Nobody goes to the free-throw line.
Travelling: how many steps?
Both rulebooks use the same framework. A player who catches the ball while moving, or who ends a dribble, may take two steps after gathering the ball to stop, pass or shoot. The first step is the first foot, or both feet together, touching the floor after the gather; the second is the next one. The NBA defines the gather as the moment a player gains enough control to hold the ball, pass or shoot, or puts two hands on it, or lets it come to rest.
That definition explains many of the "that was a walk!" complaints. Steps taken while the player is still dribbling do not count; FIBA's dribbling article says plainly that there is no limit on steps while the ball is out of the player's hand. A player standing still must keep a pivot foot down and release the ball before lifting that foot to start a dribble. Hopping twice on the same foot after a dribble is always a travel.
Double dribble and carrying
A player who ends a dribble, by holding the ball with both hands or letting it come to rest, cannot start a new one unless control was lost in between: to a shot, to an opponent's touch, or to a pass or fumble that another player touched. A dribbler also may not put a hand under the ball and carry it, or bring it to a pause and then keep dribbling.
Three seconds in the lane
An attacking player may not stand in the painted lane for more than three seconds while their team has the ball in the frontcourt; allowances are made for a player who is shooting or leaving. The effect is to stop the biggest player from simply parking under the basket.
The NBA adds a defensive version that FIBA does not have. A defender in the lane must be actively guarding an opponent, which the NBA defines as being within arm's length and in a guarding position, within three seconds. The penalty is a technical foul: one free throw, and the attacking team keeps the ball.
Eight seconds and the backcourt
After gaining the ball in its own half, a team has eight seconds to get it into the frontcourt. Once it is there, a player cannot be the first to touch it back in the backcourt if their own team sent it there. Together the two rules stop a team from retreating into empty space to run down the clock.
The five-second rules
A player throwing the ball in from out of bounds has five seconds to release it in both rulebooks. Beyond that, the two books differ. FIBA gives a closely guarded player holding the ball five seconds to pass, shoot or dribble. The NBA instead stops an attacker below the free-throw line extended from dribbling with their back or side to the basket for more than five seconds.
Goaltending and basket interference
A defender may not touch a shot that is on its downward flight with a chance to go in, or one that has already hit the backboard; when that happens, the basket is awarded as if it had gone in. Attackers who do the same simply lose the ball.
This is one of the clearest differences between the books. The NBA's rule extends to any ball above the rim inside an imaginary cylinder, even one bouncing on the ring. FIBA's goaltending restrictions end once the ball has touched the ring, although touching the basket or backboard while the ball is on the ring is still basket interference.
Fouls: what a beginner needs first
A foul is illegal contact, or unsporting conduct, and it is charged to an individual player. What happens next depends on the situation:
- A common foul on a player who is not shooting gives the ball back to the fouled team, unless the fouling team is in the penalty.
- A foul on a shooter gives two or three free throws if the shot missed, and one if it went in, the familiar "and-one".
- The penalty begins with a team's fifth foul of a quarter in both books: from then on, defensive fouls on players who are not shooting earn two free throws instead of a throw-in. The NBA adds a late-quarter allowance and a lower limit in overtime.
- The foul limit is six personal fouls in the NBA and five under FIBA rules, after which a player must leave the game.
Technical, flagrant and, under FIBA's 2026 rules, the new disruptive fouls each carry their own penalties. They are a subject of their own; the four points above are the ones a beginner needs first.
One possession, start to finish
Here is a single possession under NBA rules, with the rule that governs each moment:
- Team A scores. Team B takes the ball out behind the end line, may run along the line after a made basket, and has five seconds to inbound it.
- The shot clock starts when the ball is touched on the court, and Team B now has eight seconds to cross half-way.
- Once over half-way, Team B cannot bring the ball back. Its centre can stay in the lane for less than three seconds at a time; Team A's centre must stay within arm's length of an attacker or leave the lane within three seconds.
- Team B shoots with six seconds left on the shot clock. The shot hits the rim and Team B grabs the rebound, so the shot clock resets to 14.
- A Team A defender fouls the rebounder on the putback. If the shot goes in, it counts and the shooter gets one free throw; if it misses, two.
- The last free throw goes in, and Team A inbounds from behind its end line. The cycle starts again.
Six steps, and nearly every rule in this guide has had a turn.
Beyond the rulebook
Positions are not in either rulebook, which is why they get their own explanation in basketball positions explained. Once you can follow a game, basketball advanced stats explained shows how analysts measure what happens inside these rules.
If you would rather make the decisions than watch them, Basketball Career Sim is a fictional career game whose Live Sim asks for them on key possessions: take the shot or move it on, lock down your matchup or call for help. The basketball career sim guide covers how those choices play out over a career, and the basketball draft simulator guide covers the front-office side. Everything else on the sport is gathered on the basketball hub, and the studio's sports titles are listed in the sports GM category.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
How many steps can you take in basketball before it is travelling?
How long is a basketball game?
What happens when the shot clock runs out?
What is the three-second rule in basketball?
What is goaltending?
Sources
- Official Rules 2025-26 (opens in a new tab)National Basketball Association — accessed
- NBA Rulebook (opens in a new tab)NBA Official — accessed
- Official Basketball Rules 2026 (v1.1, valid as of 1 October 2026) (opens in a new tab)FIBA — accessed
- Official Basketball Rules (opens in a new tab)FIBA — accessed
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