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THE RULES LAB · 02

One foul.
Two possible
outcomes.

When does a common foul send a team to the line? The clock matters as much as the count.

Explore the bonus
Original rule diagram: regulation reaches the team-foul penalty on foul five, overtime on foul four. A separate final-two-minute lane highlights the second foul.
Three thresholds. One decision.
THE SCENARIO

A defender commits a common, non-shooting foul.

No shot is attempted. It is a live-ball foul charged to the defense’s team total, with no special penalty. All examples are hypothetical.

Which fouls are outside this explorer?

Shooting, offensive, double, technical, flagrant, punching, away-from-the-play, clear-path and transition take fouls. Those situations need their own rules. This is a learning tool, not an officiating system.

01 / SET THE SITUATION

Before the whistle

Period
When does this foul happen?

All team fouls already charged in this period. Do not include the foul being assessed.

A subset of the total above. Available when the final-two-minute window is selected.

Input range: 0–99. This is a tool limit, not an NBA limit.

02 / THE NEXT FOUL

NO BONUS FREE THROWS

Sideline throw-in

This would be team foul 4 in a regulation quarter, before the final two minutes.

BEFORE3
AFTER THIS FOUL4

Period thresholdNot reached

Final-2-minute thresholdNot active

If another common foul follows in this same window, it would award 2 free throws.

Record the foul to assess the one after it. Undo covers recorded fouls only; changing inputs starts a new sequence.

03 / TRY A CONTRAST

Same game. Different whistle.

Select an example to load its counters.

Choose a starting point, then experiment with the controls.

04 / KEEP THE CONTEXT

The bonus
in plain English.

“Team foul” and “shooting foul” answer different questions. Both bonus attempts are awarded; the second does not depend on making the first.

Read NBA Rule 12 (opens in a new tab)
5

Regulation

The fifth and later common team fouls in a quarter award two free throws.

4

Overtime

The fourth and later common team fouls in an overtime period award two free throws. Count each period separately.

2

The final-two-minute exception

If the team entered the final two minutes below its quota, it gets only one team foul in that window without the penalty. The second can award two free throws even with a low period total. This applies in any quarter and any overtime.

!

No late-window reset

A team already at its period quota gets no extra foul to give. Special foul types carry separate penalties.

Keep learning

Shot-clock Reset Explorer Shooting Efficiency Lab