Rules: FIBA

Edition on file: Official Basketball Rules 2024, v1.0a, valid as of 1 October 2024; the 2026 edition (v1.1) is also on file and comes into force on 1 October 2026.
Text status: on-file.
Document: Official Basketball Rules 2024, v1.0a, retrieved 2026-09-21.

Two editions are on file. The 2024 edition is the one in force on the retrieval date (2026-09-21) and is the one cited; the 2026 edition is on file for the day it takes over. The equipment appendix (ring and backboard sizes) is a separate PDF, also on file. FIBA states its dimensions in metres; the court module converts them to feet and says so.

All five compared · NBA · NCAA men · NCAA women · NFHS (US high school).

The floor and spacing

Restricted area

The half-circle in front of the rim inside which a secondary defender cannot draw a charge. Entry.

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

Verbatim: “A semi-circle line with the radius of 1.30 m measured from the point on the court beneath the exact centre of the basket to the outer edge of the semi-circle.” FIBA’s own “restricted areas” are the lanes: “The restricted areas shall be the rectangular areas marked on the court limited by the endlines, the extended free-throw lines and the lines which originate at the endlines”.

Transition defense

Transition take foul

A deliberate foul on the ball early in a break to stop the play before the numbers advantage can be used. Entry.

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

Verbatim, among the definitions of an unsportsmanlike foul: “An unnecessary contact caused by the defensive player in order to stop the pro-gress of the offensive team in transition. This applies until the offensive player starts the act of shooting.” Penalty, verbatim: “Free throw(s) shall be awarded to the player who was fouled, followed by:” then “A throw-in from the throw-in line in the team’s frontcourt, opposite the scorer’s table.”

Rules and regulations

Backcourt count

The time a team has to bring the ball across the midcourt line; the count a press is built to run out. Entry.

8 seconds. Art. 28.1.1

Verbatim: “that team must cause the ball to go into its frontcourt within 8 seconds.”

Court dimensions

The length and width of the playing court. Entry.

28 m by 15 m, inside the boundary line. Art. 2.1

Verbatim: “The court shall have a flat, hard surface free from obstructions (Diagram 1) with dimensions of 28 m in length by 15 m in width measured from the inner edge of the boundary line.”

Defensive three seconds

The NBA rule that a defender in the lane must be guarding someone within three seconds; the reason a rim protector cannot simply stand under the basket. Entry.

No such rule; checked against Official Basketball Rules 2024, v1.0a.

Art. 26 restricts the offensive player only, verbatim: “A player shall not remain in the opponents’ restricted area for more than 3 conse-cutive seconds while the team is in control of a live ball in the frontcourt and the game clock is running.” The text was searched for a defensive count and none appears.

Free-throw lane

How wide the painted lane is; the number behind the paint, the blocks and the elbows. Entry.

4.90 m, the lane lines’ outer edges 2.45 m either side of the midpoint of the endline. Art. 2.5.3

Verbatim: “the lines which originate at the endlines, their outer edges being 2.45 m from the mid-point of the endlines and terminating at the outer edge of the extended free-throw lines.” The width is this site’s arithmetic, twice 2.45 m.

Free-throw line

How far the free-throw line is from the backboard; it fixes the nail and the elbows. Entry.

5.80 m from the inner edge of the endline. Art. 2.5.3

Verbatim: “The free-throw line shall be marked parallel to each endline. It shall have its furthest edge 5.80 m from the inner edge of the endline and shall be 3.60 m long.”

Goaltending

Touching a shot on its way down, or off the backboard, while it can still score; the rule that limits what a rim protector may do. Entry.

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

Verbatim: “Goaltending occurs during a shot for a goal when a player touches the ball while it is completely above the level of the ring and:” then “It is on its downward flight to the basket, or” and “After it has touched the backboard.”

Length of the game

How long a game is and how it is divided; the one rule every other clock hangs on. Entry.

Four quarters of 10 minutes. Art. 8.1

Verbatim: “The game shall consist of 4 quarters of 10 minutes each.”

Shot clock

The time a team has to attempt a shot that reaches the ring; the number that sets the pace of every possession. Entry.

24 seconds; 14 seconds after an offensive rebound or on certain frontcourt throw-ins. Art. 29.1.1; Art. 29.2

Verbatim: “that team must attempt a shot for a goal within 24 seconds.” and, on the frontcourt reset, “If 14 seconds or more are displayed on the shot clock at the time when the game was stopped, the shot clock shall not be reset but shall continue from the time it was stopped.”

Three-point line

How far the arc is from the basket, and how far the corner line is from the sideline; the geometry every spacing decision in Chapter 3 rests on. Entry.

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

Verbatim: “An arc of radius 6.75 m measured from the point on the court beneath the exact centre of the opponents’ basket to the outer edge of the arc.” and “The 2 parallel lines extending from and perpendicular to the endline, with the outer edge 0.90 m from the inner edge of the sidelines.”