Bonus (basketball)

Free throws are awarded to the opposing team when a team enters the penalty situation.

In the sport of basketball, the bonus situation (also called the penalty situation) is a situation where one team accumulates a certain number 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, the fouled player from the opposing team will be entitled to take one, two or three 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.

FIBA

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 more than four fouls in a quarter; the fifth and subsequent team fouls will incur penalty free throws. All subsequent non-shooting defensive fouls committed by that team in the same quarter concede two free throws. All 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

NBA

In the National Basketball Association, bonus rules kick in after four team fouls are committed in a quarter; the fifth and subsequent team fouls will incur penalty free throws. The NBA rules on the team foul penalty are similar to the FIBA version, with three major differences.

Only defensive and loose-ball fouls count towards a team's limit for the team foul penalty. Offensive fouls do not count towards the team foul penalty.^[2]

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. In other words, within any period free throws are awarded starting from the fifth foul OR from the second foul in the last two minutes of the period, whichever comes earlier.^[2]

If a game enters overtime, the foul counts are reset, and are reset again before each subsequent overtime period. The foul limit for overtime periods is three, instead of five for regulation periods. This is because overtime periods are five minutes in length, which is much shorter than the normal 12-minute quarters during regulation time. As is the case in regulation, two free throws are awarded for non-shooting defensive fouls during the bonus period, and one foul in the final two minutes automatically puts the team in the team foul penalty.^[2]

WNBA

In the Women's National Basketball Association, the same bonus situations apply as in the NBA during regulation periods. As before, all fouls mentioned above for the NBA apply. A team foul penalty occurs once the team commits a foul in the last minute should that team fail to reach the penalty in the first 9 minutes of a period (or first 4 minutes of overtime). Generally free throws will be taken on the 5th foul OR 2nd foul in the last minute of any period, whichever is earlier. Should a game go to overtime, foul counts are reset. The foul limit in overtime is just two.

NCAA

The bonus situation is also used in American college basketball, but the NCAA 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 per half. After the sixth foul, the opposing team is awarded at least one free throw for any defensive or loose-ball foul, no matter if the foul was shooting or non-shooting (offensive fouls are never awarded free throws in the NCAA). In the case of a non-shooting foul, the opposing player must make the first free throw in order to be awarded a second 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 (often referred to as the "double bonus"). 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.

References