The court · what every line decides
Basketball Court Lines, Explained
Every line painted on a basketball court decides a call: whether standing on it puts you out, whether a shot is worth two or three, whether a defender in that spot has taken a charge or committed a block. This walks the floor line by line, and says what each one is most often got wrong about.
Checked 20 Aug 2026
Endline
Also calledBaseline
FIBA spec15 m wide
What it is
The short boundary at each end. The line itself is out of bounds, so touching it puts you out. After a made basket the throw-in comes from behind it, and the thrower can move anywhere along the endline.
What it decides
Touching it puts the ball or the player out, because the line itself is outside the court. After a made basket the throw-in comes from behind it — the one restart where the thrower may run the whole length of the line.
Most often got wrong
Assuming the line is still in. Every boundary line counts as outside the court, so standing on it is already out.
Sideline
FIBA spec28 m long
What it is
The two long boundaries. Like the endline, the line itself is out of bounds. Court dimensions are measured between the inner edges.
What it decides
The other out-of-bounds line. A throw-in from the sideline has to be taken from the spot the referee gives, with no running along the line the way the endline allows — which is the difference nearly every amateur game gets wrong.
Centre line
Also calledHalf-court line
FIBA spec14 m from each endline
What it is
Splits the court into frontcourt and backcourt, and extends 15 cm past each sideline. The centre line counts as backcourt, so a ball-handler touching it is still in the backcourt. That is where most backcourt-violation arguments come from.
What it decides
The border between backcourt and frontcourt. Once the ball reaches the frontcourt it cannot go back, and doing so is a backcourt violation. From a backcourt restart the offense has eight seconds to get it over.
Most often got wrong
Assuming the line already counts as frontcourt. It does not — it is part of the backcourt. The ball is only over once the ball and both feet have fully crossed it, and a foot on the line is still in the backcourt.
Three-point line
Also calledThe arc
FIBA spec6.75 m · 6.60 m in the corners
What it is
A 6.75 m arc drawn from the point below the ring centre, straightening into lines parallel to each sideline in the corners. The line counts as two-point territory, so a shooter touching it scores two.
What it decides
Whether a made shot is worth two or three. The call is made on where the feet last touched the floor before the shot: both outside the arc on take-off is a three however the shooter lands, and a jump that starts inside it is a two however far outside it finishes.
Most often got wrong
Counting a shot from on the line as a three. Touching it makes it a two: the line belongs to the two-point area, the same way a boundary line belongs to the outside.
The figure under each rulebookThree-point line, at the top
- FIBA22 ft 1¾ in
- NBA23 ft 9 in
- NCAA22 ft 1¾ in
- US high school19 ft 9 in
Free-throw line
FIBA spec5.80 m out · 3.60 m long
What it is
Parallel to the endline, 5.80 m from its inner edge and 3.60 m long. The line painted on the floor runs all the way out to the lane lines, but the rulebook only means that middle 3.60 m.
What it decides
Where a free throw is taken from, and the far edge of the lane. The shooter may not cross it until the ball touches the ring. Doing so is a violation: the attempt is cancelled even if it goes in, and unless more free throws follow, the ball goes to the other team.
The figure under each rulebookFree-throw line to the backboard
- FIBA15 ft 1 in
- NBA15 ft
- NCAA15 ft
- US high school15 ft
Lane line
FIBA spec5.80 m long
What it is
Runs from the endline to the free-throw line extended, down each side of the lane. The line is part of the restricted area, so standing on it still counts as inside. To reset three seconds, both feet have to land fully outside.
What it decides
The three-second count. While their team controls the ball in the frontcourt and the game clock is running, an offensive player may not stay inside the area these lines enclose for more than three seconds. Leaving it takes both feet fully outside; stepping out with one does not stop the count. The lines also carry the lane space marks players line up on during a free throw.
The figure under each rulebookLane width
- FIBA16 ft 1 in
- NBA16 ft
- NCAA12 ft
- US high school12 ft
No-charge semicircle
Also calledRestricted area (NBA)
FIBA spec1.25 m radius
What it is
A 1.25 m semicircle under the basket. It protects a driving player who is already in the air and shooting or passing: contact with a defender who has a foot inside the arc is not a charge. Contact made with both feet on the floor is not covered, and pushing, holding, elbows and leg contact are fouls either way.
What it decides
Charge or block. A defender whose feet are inside this arc cannot draw an offensive foul even from a legal set position, unless the attacker did something illegal. It is the line the rulebooks disagree on most: US high school rules do not paint one at all, and NCAA women’s play dropped it in 2023-24 in favour of the words “directly beneath the basket”.
The figure under each rulebookNo-charge semicircle radius
- FIBA4 ft 1¼ in
- NBA4 ft
- NCAA4 ft
Restricted area
Also calledThe paint / The lane / The key
FIBA spec4.90 × 5.80 m
What it is
The rectangle formed by the endline, the lane lines and the free-throw line extended. It is usually painted a solid colour, which is where "the paint" comes from. While your team has the ball and the clock is running, an offensive player cannot stay inside for more than three seconds.
What it decides
The paint. The three-second count runs here, and it is the area the “points in the paint” column measures. Its width is the measurement the four rulebooks disagree on most.
Free-throw circle
FIBA spec1.80 m radius
What it is
Centred on the middle of the free-throw line, 1.80 m radius. The half nearer the basket falls inside the lane, so it is dashed. The shooter has to release from inside this circle, behind the line.
What it decides
During a free throw nobody but the shooter and the players on the lane marks may enter the circle or cross the line until the ball touches the ring.
The figure under each rulebookFree-throw circle radius
- FIBA5 ft 10¾ in
- NBA6 ft
- NCAA6 ft
- US high school6 ft
Centre circle
Also calledJump circle
FIBA spec1.80 m radius
What it is
A 1.80 m circle in the middle of the court, used for the opening jump ball. Held balls after that are not jumped; the alternating possession arrow decides who gets it.
What it decides
The opening jump ball is taken here, with the two jumpers inside their own halves of the circle and the other eight outside it. Under FIBA rules every later held ball goes to alternating possession rather than another jump.
The figure under each rulebookCentre circle radius
- FIBA5 ft 10¾ in
- NBA6 ft
- NCAA6 ft
- US high school6 ft
Throw-in line
FIBA spec8.325 m from the endline
What it is
A short mark outside each sideline, 8.325 m from the endline. Play restarts from here after an unsportsmanlike or disqualifying foul, and in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter and of each overtime a team that would restart in its own backcourt may switch to it after taking a time-out.
What it decides
Only FIBA marks it, and two situations bring it into play. The first is an unsportsmanlike or disqualifying foul: whenever one is called, play resumes from this mark in the offended team’s frontcourt. The second is the last two minutes of the fourth quarter and of every overtime, when a team that would otherwise restart in its own backcourt may, after taking a time-out, have its head coach elect to throw in from here instead. Ordinary out-of-bounds restarts have nothing to do with it.
READ NEXT
Past the lines, the whole floor in numbers
Court length and width, board and ring specs, the distance from the free-throw line to the backboard — all four rulebooks differ. If you want to know which one your local court was painted to, the table is the fastest way to find out.