Effective for the 2021-22 season and beginning with the Summer Leagues, NBA has announced new rules to reduce the use of non-basketball moves to draw foul during play
The National Basketball Association (NBA) posted a thread of seven tweets this Sunday on August 8 announcing some rule changes for the game officials, ahead of the 2021-22 season. The officials will enforce the followed rules in a way so as to restrict offensive players from using non-basketball maneuvers and hence drawing fouls. Read on to know the rule changes.
Beginning with Summer Leagues and effective for the 2021-22 season, game officials will enforce the playing rules in a manner that reduces the incentive for offensive players to use non-basketball moves to draw fouls.
Thread ⤵️ (1/7)
— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) August 8, 2021
New NBA Offensive Rule Change, Foul Rules And Format For 2021
NBA Official Twitter account posted a thread of seven tweets laying out a number of overt, non-basketball moves consistently incorporated by offensive players over the years. This will make it harder than ever for offensive players to draw fouls next season. They will eventually have to seek out alternate methods of scoring.
- A shooter launches / leans into a defender at an abnormal angle
- An offensive player abruptly veers off their path into a defender
- A shooter kicks their leg (up or to the side) at an abnormal angle
- An offensive player’s off-arm hooks the defender (often in the process of attempting a shot in a non-basketball manner)
This play should result in a no-call, as the offensive player leans into the defensive player (at an abnormal angle), but the contact was marginal. If the offensive player had initiated more than marginal contact, an offensive foul would be the correct call. (4/7) pic.twitter.com/GUUL7C2ldY
— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) August 8, 2021
On this play, the shooter kicks his leg up at an abnormal angle to initiate contact with the defender. An offensive foul should be called on the play. (6/7) pic.twitter.com/2o1xQj3nla
— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) August 8, 2021
When do these NBA rules for fouls come into force?
The aforementioned plays will now either result in no-calls or fouls on the shooter when initiated. The league’s newest players will experience the new emphasis in practice firstly, beginning with summer league play this month. NBA will carry the emphasis over to the 2021-22 regular season.
The Athletic first’s Shams Charania had first forecasted these new changes in a report on June 22. Such stricter enforcement on non-basketball moves was expected of the league, except then the decision was awaiting approval from the Competition Committee and Board of Governors.