On a throw-in, how much may the thrower and the defender move?

The thrower obeys the five-second and movement limits. The defender may mirror, but may not cross the boundary to interfere. Thrower-in：Release within 5 seconds; do not step onto the court while holding the ball. Thrower-in：Designated spot: no more than 1 m laterally in total; moving backwards is allowed. Thrower-in：After a made basket: use the whole endline or pass to a teammate out of bounds. Defender：You may move, mirror or jump; no body part may cross the boundary before the ball does. Defender：When there is less than 2 m of space behind the thrower, stay at least 1 m away. Defender：Reaching across the line to interfere, or closing inside 1 m where the space behind the thrower is tight, is a violation and carries a technical foul. It applies at any point in the game, with no warning needed first. Thrower: five seconds and the line. Defender: the line, plus 1 metre when space is tight.

Is a screen a foul if the screener was moving?

At contact: be stationary, keep both feet down, and keep shoulders, hips, legs and elbows inside your cylinder. Screening a stationary opponent from behind: allow at least 1 normal step. Screening a moving opponent: allow 1–2 normal steps, depending on speed. Roll after the defender clears; do not chase and add a second bump with hip or shoulder. Move to the spot; be still at contact.

When does the offensive three-second count start, and how do you reset it?

Live ball in the frontcourt + team control + game clock running. Once the shot leaves the hand, the previous team-control count no longer applies. A player clearly attempting to leave should be given an allowance. To reset: both feet must touch outside the restricted area. The line is part of the area. Both feet out resets the count.

How is travelling actually judged, and how many steps do you get after the gather?

To start a dribble, the ball must leave the hand before the pivot foot lifts. After gathering while moving, two steps are allowed to stop, pass or shoot. You may jump to pass or shoot, but neither foot may return before release. Sliding after falling with the ball is legal; rolling or standing up with it is not. Release before the pivot lifts; release before landing.

Where is the line between a legal dribble, a carry and a double dribble?

Carrying the ball from underneath, or dribbling again after the first dribble ended, is a violation. Letting the ball visibly pause in one hand, then continuing: carry. Two hands on the ball, or the ball resting in one hand: the dribble has ended. A new dribble is allowed after a shot, an opponent’s touch, or a pass/fumble touching another player. Once the ball rests in the hand, that dribble is over.

How do you tell a charge from a blocking foul?

The defender first faces the ball-handler with both feet down; later torso contact is normally a charge. The defender may not move forward into the ball-handler to create contact. Judge contact on the torso, not whether a defender’s foot briefly left the floor. The no-charge semicircle is not a free-hit zone; pushing, holding, elbows and leg contact may still be fouls. Get there first, slide legally, judge torso contact.

On a free throw, when may the lane players, the shooter and the outside players move?

Lane players may enter after release; the shooter may touch the line or enter after the ball goes in or touches the ring; outside players wait until the free throw ends. Shooter: stand behind the line inside the semicircle, release within 5 seconds and do not fake the attempt. You may jump on a free throw: the rules set no shooting technique, only that you keep off the line and out of the restricted area until the ball touches the ring. A jump straight up is legal; jumping forward and landing on or over the line is a violation. Lane players: occupy the assigned alternating spaces; do not enter the restricted or neutral area, or leave the space, before release. Other players: remain behind the free-throw line extended and the 3-point line until the free throw ends. Lane: release. Shooter: ring. Outside: end of the free throw.

When are free throws awarded, how many, and how many fouls before a player is out?

Fouled in the act of shooting: the goal counts plus 1 free throw, or 2 or 3 free throws if it misses, depending on where the shot came from. Fouled otherwise: your team throws in, unless the other team already has 4 team fouls this quarter, which turns it into 2 free throws. A player who reaches 5 fouls is finished for the game and must leave the court; personal and technical fouls count towards the same total. Team fouls reset every quarter. The first four cost nothing extra; from the fifth on, every non-shooting personal foul is 2 free throws. Technical foul: 1 free throw to the opponents, then a throw-in from the place nearest to where the ball was when it was called. Unsportsmanlike and disqualifying fouls: after the free throws the restart is always at the throw-in line in that team’s frontcourt, not from the nearest sideline. Two unsportsmanlike fouls, two technicals, or one of each in the same game: disqualified, off the court immediately. First ask whether it was the act of shooting, then whether the other team is over the limit.

How many quarters is a FIBA game and how long, and how do timeouts and substitutions work?

Four quarters of 10 minutes, then 5-minute overtimes until someone wins. After the opening jump ball, every held ball goes to whichever team the alternating-possession arrow is pointing at. Two minutes between quarters, 15 minutes at half time, and two more before each overtime. Timeouts: 2 in the first half and 3 in the second, no more than 2 of them once the fourth quarter is inside 2:00; 1 per overtime, each lasting a minute. Inside the last 2:00 of the fourth quarter and of each overtime, the scoring team cannot take a timeout after a made basket unless an official has already interrupted play. Substitutions happen only while the ball is dead and the game clock is stopped, and the substitute asks the scorer’s table. One jump ball all game; after that, follow the arrow.

FIBA 5-on-5 · Visual rules

FIBA Basketball Rules Explained with Visual Diagrams

Read the positions, understand the call.

Skip the rulebook marathon. 9 common scenes cover throw-ins, free throws, screens, three seconds, what fouls actually cost, how a game runs, and the calls you meet most.

Applies to the FIBA 2024 rules · Updated 2 Aug 2026

Players demonstrating a throw-in and an off-ball screen on a half court

QUICK ANSWER

What are the FIBA basketball rules?

FIBA basketball is played five-a-side over four 10-minute quarters. A fifth personal foul ends a player’s game, and from a team’s fifth foul in a quarter every non-shooting personal foul gives the other team two free throws. The violations you meet most are travelling, double dribble, three seconds in the lane and backcourt.

4 × 10Four quarters of 10 minutes, 2 minutes between them, 15 at half time, and 5-minute overtimes while the score is level.
5A fifth personal foul ends a player’s game; personal and technical fouls count towards the same total.
+2Team fouls reset each quarter: the first four cost nothing extra, and from the fifth on every non-shooting personal foul is 2 free throws.

Jump to:Game flow Fouls and free throws Travelling Double dribble Three seconds Backcourt

00 · TL;DR

Remember these three lines

1 mAt a designated throw-in spot, lateral movement is limited to 1 metre.
●Judge a screen at contact: both feet down, body stationary.
3To reset three seconds, both feet must leave the restricted area.

↕ ≤ 1 m

≥ 1 m*

THROWER

DEFENDER

Rule 17

Throw-in matchup: how may each side move?

First identify the restart, then check five seconds, the boundary and defensive distance.

Why it gets calledThe thrower obeys the five-second and movement limits. The defender may mirror, but may not cross the boundary to interfere.

Thrower-in

Release within 5 seconds; do not step onto the court while holding the ball.
Designated spot: no more than 1 m laterally in total; moving backwards is allowed.
After a made basket: use the whole endline or pass to a teammate out of bounds.

Defender

You may move, mirror or jump; no body part may cross the boundary before the ball does.
When there is less than 2 m of space behind the thrower, stay at least 1 m away.
Reaching across the line to interfere, or closing inside 1 m where the space behind the thrower is tight, is a violation and carries a technical foul. It applies at any point in the game, with no warning needed first.

One-line memoryThrower: five seconds and the line. Defender: the line, plus 1 metre when space is tight.

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✓

→

Rule 33.7

A moving screener is not automatically a foul

You may move into position. What matters is the instant contact occurs.

Why it gets calledAt contact: be stationary, keep both feet down, and keep shoulders, hips, legs and elbows inside your cylinder.

Screening a stationary opponent from behind: allow at least 1 normal step.
Screening a moving opponent: allow 1–2 normal steps, depending on speed.
Roll after the defender clears; do not chase and add a second bump with hip or shoulder.

One-line memoryMove to the spot; be still at contact.

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→ ••

Rule 26

Three seconds: the count does not start just because you enter the lane

All three conditions must exist before the offensive three-second count applies.

Why it gets calledLive ball in the frontcourt + team control + game clock running.

Once the shot leaves the hand, the previous team-control count no longer applies.
A player clearly attempting to leave should be given an allowance.
To reset: both feet must touch outside the restricted area. The line is part of the area.

One-line memoryBoth feet out resets the count.

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Rule 25

Travelling: find the pivot foot first

Do not count feet alone. First work out when the player gained control.

Why it gets calledTo start a dribble, the ball must leave the hand before the pivot foot lifts.

After gathering while moving, two steps are allowed to stop, pass or shoot.
You may jump to pass or shoot, but neither foot may return before release.
Sliding after falling with the ball is legal; rolling or standing up with it is not.

One-line memoryRelease before the pivot lifts; release before landing.

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Rule 24

Carrying and double dribble

Ball height is not the key. The question is whether the ball came to rest in the hand.

Why it gets calledCarrying the ball from underneath, or dribbling again after the first dribble ended, is a violation.

Letting the ball visibly pause in one hand, then continuing: carry.
Two hands on the ball, or the ball resting in one hand: the dribble has ended.
A new dribble is allowed after a shot, an opponent’s touch, or a pass/fumble touching another player.

One-line memoryOnce the ball rests in the hand, that dribble is over.

Link to this rule

Rule 33.4 · 33.8 · 33.10

Charge or block: the defender need not be a statue

After establishing a legal guarding position, a defender may still move sideways or backwards.

Why it gets calledThe defender first faces the ball-handler with both feet down; later torso contact is normally a charge.

The defender may not move forward into the ball-handler to create contact.
Judge contact on the torso, not whether a defender’s foot briefly left the floor.
The no-charge semicircle is not a free-hit zone; pushing, holding, elbows and leg contact may still be fouls.

One-line memoryGet there first, slide legally, judge torso contact.

Link to this rule

Rule 43

Free throws: who may move first?

The shooter, lane players and outside players wait for different signals.

Why it gets calledLane players may enter after release; the shooter may touch the line or enter after the ball goes in or touches the ring; outside players wait until the free throw ends.

Shooter: stand behind the line inside the semicircle, release within 5 seconds and do not fake the attempt.
You may jump on a free throw: the rules set no shooting technique, only that you keep off the line and out of the restricted area until the ball touches the ring. A jump straight up is legal; jumping forward and landing on or over the line is a violation.
Lane players: occupy the assigned alternating spaces; do not enter the restricted or neutral area, or leave the space, before release.
Other players: remain behind the free-throw line extended and the 3-point line until the free throw ends.

One-line memoryLane: release. Shooter: ring. Outside: end of the free throw.

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Rule 33 · 36 · 37 · 40 · 41

Fouls: when free throws are awarded, and how many

Ask three questions in order: was it the act of shooting, did the shot go in, and is the other team already over the team-foul limit this quarter?

Why it gets calledFouled in the act of shooting: the goal counts plus 1 free throw, or 2 or 3 free throws if it misses, depending on where the shot came from. Fouled otherwise: your team throws in, unless the other team already has 4 team fouls this quarter, which turns it into 2 free throws.

A player who reaches 5 fouls is finished for the game and must leave the court; personal and technical fouls count towards the same total.
Team fouls reset every quarter. The first four cost nothing extra; from the fifth on, every non-shooting personal foul is 2 free throws.
Technical foul: 1 free throw to the opponents, then a throw-in from the place nearest to where the ball was when it was called.
Unsportsmanlike and disqualifying fouls: after the free throws the restart is always at the throw-in line in that team’s frontcourt, not from the nearest sideline.
Two unsportsmanlike fouls, two technicals, or one of each in the same game: disqualified, off the court immediately.

One-line memoryFirst ask whether it was the act of shooting, then whether the other team is over the limit.

Link to this rule

Rule 8 · 12 · 18 · 19

Game flow: the ball is jumped only once

The thing that catches people coming from the NBA is the held ball: FIBA jumps for it exactly once, at the opening tip.

Why it gets calledFour quarters of 10 minutes, then 5-minute overtimes until someone wins. After the opening jump ball, every held ball goes to whichever team the alternating-possession arrow is pointing at.

Two minutes between quarters, 15 minutes at half time, and two more before each overtime.
Timeouts: 2 in the first half and 3 in the second, no more than 2 of them once the fourth quarter is inside 2:00; 1 per overtime, each lasting a minute.
Inside the last 2:00 of the fourth quarter and of each overtime, the scoring team cannot take a timeout after a made basket unless an official has already interrupted play.
Substitutions happen only while the ball is dead and the game clock is stopped, and the substitute asks the scorer’s table.

One-line memoryOne jump ball all game; after that, follow the arrow.

Link to this rule

10 · REFEREE SIGNALS

After the whistle, watch the hands

Every call above is also spoken with the hands: stop the clock, show which call it was, then report the number and penalty to the table. Here are the most common ones; the full chart has its own page.

Stop clock for foul
One clenched fist, raised
Travelling
Both fists rotating around each other
Carrying the ball
The palm turning half a circle beside the waist
Three seconds
Three fingers while waving the arm
Twenty-four seconds
Bent fingers tapping the shoulder
Charging with the ball
A fist striking the open palm

See all 41 referee signals

11 · QUICK CALLS

Four more clocks and lines

When an official raises a counting arm, these are the usual reasons.

Closely guarded

Holding the ball with a defender within 1 m: pass, shoot or dribble within 5 seconds.

Reach frontcourt

After gaining backcourt control, get the ball into the frontcourt within 8 seconds.

Attempt a shot

Before 24 expires the ball must leave the hand, then enter or touch the ring.

↩

Backcourt

Your team touches last in frontcourt and first in backcourt: violation.

OFFICIAL SOURCES

Rule sources

This is a simplified player guide. Officials judge the full contact, timing and competition context, and local leagues may use different rules.

01FIBA Official Basketball Rules 2024↗02FIBA Official Interpretations 2024↗032026 changes and effective date↗04Look up a court term on the diagram→←Back to the beginner path

FIBA Basketball Rules Explained with Visual Diagrams

What are the FIBA basketball rules?

Remember these three lines

Throw-in matchup: how may each side move?

Thrower-in

Defender

A moving screener is not automatically a foul

Three seconds: the count does not start just because you enter the lane

Travelling: find the pivot foot first

Carrying and double dribble

Charge or block: the defender need not be a statue

Free throws: who may move first?

Fouls: when free throws are awarded, and how many

Game flow: the ball is jumped only once

Stop clock for foul

Travelling

Carrying the ball

Three seconds

Twenty-four seconds

Charging with the ball

Closely guarded

Reach frontcourt

Attempt a shot

Backcourt

Rule sources