In the sport of basketball, the bonus situation (also called the penalty situation) is a situation where one team accumulates a certain amount of fouls, which varies depending on the level of play. When the number of fouls has been reached, the bonus begins. If the team that has reached the limit commits another foul after reaching the limit, the fouled player from the opposing team will be entitled to take two free throws, even if the foul given was a non-shooting foul.[1] Teams under the limit are commonly referred to as having "fouls to give", meaning they can try to disrupt their opponents with intentional fouls without fear of free throws being assigned.
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Under FIBA rules, used for all competitions involving international teams and most leagues outside the U.S., the penalty is triggered when a team commits four fouls in a quarter. When a team commits its fifth foul, the opposing team receives two free throws, regardless of whether the foul was a shooting or a non-shooting foul. All personal fouls committed by players count towards the team foul count.
Only defensive fouls are awarded free throws.
All overtime periods are considered a continuation of the fourth quarter for the purpose of foul accumulation.
In the National Basketball Association, rules on the team foul penalty are similar to the FIBA version, with three major differences:
Only defensive and loose-ball (foul occurs when no team has control of the ball) fouls count towards a team's limit for the team foul penalty. Offensive fouls do not count towards the team foul penalty.[2]
During the last two minutes of each quarter, the team foul penalty applies after a team commits one foul in the final two minutes, if a team did not reach the penalty in the first ten minutes of a period. Free throws begin on the second defensive foul in the final two minutes of the period.[2]
If a game enters overtime, the foul limit is lowered to three. This is because the NBA's overtime periods are five minutes in length, which is much shorter than the normal 12-minute quarters during regulation time. The opposing team will be awarded one free throw, along with one penalty free throw, if the bonus situation happens in overtime. As is the case in regulation, one foul in the final two minutes automatically puts the team in the team foul penalty.[2]
The bonus situation is also used in American college basketball, but the rules are much different from the bonus rules of the NBA. The basic bonus rules remain the same, but the limit for team fouls is six in a half. On the seventh foul, the opposing team is awarded at least one free throw, no matter if the foul was shooting or non-shooting. In the case of a non-shooting foul, the opposing player must make the first free throw in order to be awarded a penalty bonus free throw. This is commonly referred to as "one-and-one"[3]. (A shooting foul is not subject to this requirement; the player will get all free throw attempts allowed by the rules regardless of the result of the preceding shot.) Beginning with the tenth foul of a half, the fouled team is awarded two free throws on non-shooting fouls regardless of whether or not the first shot is made. For purposes of bonus, overtime in college basketball is considered to be an extension of the second half.[4]
The rules of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), which govern high school basketball in the United States, follow the NCAA on this point. Even though the NFHS rules divide the game into quarters, the team foul count resets only at halftime.