Rules compared
The same rule across five rule sets. Every cell is one of three things: a value with the rule or article number it comes from, linked to the document on file; a stated absence, where the document was read for that concept and has no such rule; or a stated gap, where the league’s text is not public and the page searched is named. Nothing here is inferred from another league or filled from memory. The per-league pages carry the same cells with the verbatim words each rests on.
Per league: NBA · NCAA men · NCAA women · FIBA · NFHS (US high school).
| Rule | NBA | NCAA men | NCAA women | FIBA | NFHS (US high school) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backcourt count | 8 seconds. Rule No. 10, Section VIII | 10 seconds. Rule 9-10 | 10 seconds. Rule 9-10 | 8 seconds. Art. 28.1.1 | Gap: not in the public text of NFHS (US high school); searched Basketball Rules Changes - 2025-26. |
| Court dimensions | Gap: not in the public text of NBA; searched RULE NO. 1: Court Dimensions - Equipment. | 94 feet by 50 feet, inside the boundary lines. Rule 1-2.2 | 94 feet by 50 feet, inside the boundary lines. Rule 1-2.2 | 28 m by 15 m, inside the boundary line. Art. 2.1 | Gap: not in the public text of NFHS (US high school); searched Basketball Rules Changes - 2025-26. |
| Defensive three seconds | A defender in the 16-foot lane, or within 4 feet beyond its endline, must be actively guarding an opponent within three seconds while the offense controls the ball in the frontcourt. Rule No. 10, Section VII | No such rule; checked against NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Book. | No such rule; checked against NCAA Women’s Basketball Rules Book. | No such rule; checked against Official Basketball Rules 2024, v1.0a. | Gap: not in the public text of NFHS (US high school); searched Basketball Rules Changes - 2025-26. |
| Free-throw lane | 16 feet. Rule No. 10, Section VII | 12 feet, measured to the outside of the lane lines. Rule 1-6.1 | 12 feet, measured to the outside of the lane lines. Rule 1-6.1 | 4.90 m, the lane lines’ outer edges 2.45 m either side of the midpoint of the endline. Art. 2.5.3 | Gap: not in the public text of NFHS (US high school); searched Basketball Rules Changes - 2025-26. |
| Free-throw line | 15 feet from the plane of the face of the backboard. Rule No. 1, Section I | 15 feet from the plane of the face of the backboard. Rule 1-6 | 15 feet from the plane of the face of the backboard. Rule 1-6 | 5.80 m from the inner edge of the endline. Art. 2.5.3 | Gap: not in the public text of NFHS (US high school); searched Basketball Rules Changes - 2025-26. |
| Goaltending | A player may not touch a ball on its downward flight with a chance to score, nor a ball that has touched the backboard above ring level, nor a ball within the cylinder above the ring. Rule No. 11, Section I | A violation, alongside basket interference; only the defensive team’s goaltending awards points. Rule 9-15.1; Rule 5-1.18 | A violation, alongside basket interference; only the defensive team’s goaltending awards points. Rule 9-15.1; Rule 5-1.18 | Touching a shot while it is completely above ring level and on its downward flight, or after it has touched the backboard. Art. 31.2.1 | From 2025-26 only the defense can goaltend; a ball that has touched the backboard is treated as on its downward flight. 4-22-1 & 2; 4-22-3 |
| Length of the game | Four periods of twelve minutes; overtime periods of five minutes. Rule No. 5, Section II | Two halves of 20 minutes; extra periods of five minutes. Rule 5-6.1 | Four quarters of 10 minutes. Rule 5-6.1 | Four quarters of 10 minutes. Art. 8.1 | Gap: not in the public text of NFHS (US high school); searched Basketball Rules Changes - 2025-26. |
| Restricted area | A half-circle 4 feet from the center of the basket ring, extended parallel to the lane line to the face of the backboard. Rule No. 1, Section I | A semicircle of 4-foot radius from the center of the basket, extended straight to the front face of the backboard. Rule 1-8 | No arc. The restricted area is the floor directly under the basket, from the front and side of the ring to the front of the backboard; the book recommends removing any painted arc. Rule 1-8.1 | A no-charge semi-circle of 1.30 m radius from the point beneath the center of the basket; FIBA uses the words “restricted area” for the lane itself. Art. 2.5.7 | Gap: not in the public text of NFHS (US high school); searched Basketball Rules Changes - 2025-26. |
| Shot clock | 24 seconds. Rule No. 7, Section I | 30 seconds. Rule 2-11.1 | 30 seconds; reset to 20 on a frontcourt throw-in after a dead-ball change of team control. Rule 2-11.1; Rule 2-11.6.d | 24 seconds; 14 seconds after an offensive rebound or on certain frontcourt throw-ins. Art. 29.1.1; Art. 29.2 | Gap: not in the public text of NFHS (US high school); searched Basketball Rules Changes - 2025-26. |
| Three-point line | An arc of 23 feet 9 inches from the middle of the basket, meeting lines 3 feet from the sidelines. Rule No. 1, Section I | 22 feet 1¾ inches from the center of the basket; 21 feet 7⅞ inches in the corners. Rule 1-7.1 | 22 feet 1¾ inches from the center of the basket; 21 feet 7⅞ inches in the corners. Rule 1-7.1 | An arc of 6.75 m from the point beneath the center of the basket, meeting lines 0.90 m from the sidelines. Art. 2.5.4 | Gap: not in the public text of NFHS (US high school); searched Basketball Rules Changes - 2025-26. |
| Transition take foul | From 2022-23, one free throw by any player on the offended team, and the offended team keeps the ball. Board of Governors announcement, 13 July 2022 (the Rule 12 page on file does not carry the words; no rule number is printed in the release) | No such rule; checked against NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Book. | No transition-specific foul; contact designed to negate an opponent’s obvious advantageous position is a flagrant 1 foul. Rule 10-13.1.b | An unsportsmanlike foul, until the offensive player starts the act of shooting; free throws plus a frontcourt throw-in. Art. 37.1.1; Art. 37.2.2 | Gap: not in the public text of NFHS (US high school); searched Basketball Rules Changes - 2025-26. |
11 rules compared across 5 rule sets. Editions and what is on file for each are on the per-league pages.