Catching your own airball in basketball is not travelling nor illegal
March 28th, 2007 § 7 Comments
This is totally off-topic but I just had to get this off my chest. I play a lot of basketball. I also used to ref for 5 years. It never ceases to amaze me how many people think that it is illegal to catch your own airball if it was a legitimate shot attempt. I bet you didn’t know that did you? I hate it and I’m here to dispell what I call the biggest myth in basketball.
We’ve all grown up playing playground basketball thinking that if you airball a shot you can’t touch the ball again mainly due to the NBA. The NBA is the only league in the world in which this is a true violation. Not in the NCAA, not in Junior College, not in Intramural Sports, not in High School, not in City Leagues and certainly not Streetball! So the next time you’re out on the courts, educate all those haters. Catching your own airball is not travelling nor is it illegal!
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traveling_%28basketball%29
http://www.dallasref.com/pdf_files/most_misunderstood_basketball_rules.pdf - (#7)
http://www.longislandbasketball.com/AskTheRef2.html – (Last question at the bottom of the page)
what if the ball touches the ground, and you retrieve it. Is it a foul?
no, that’s not a foul. it’s a loose ball.
Great point Henry! I just tried to explain this rule during a pickup game. I even argued with guys on my team! Can you point me to some “official” rules so I can print them out and rub it in?
yea, but it is a violation in THE professional league, which is what most people watch. In addition how do you determine what is a legitimate shot attempt, and not some globetrotter circus type move. You need a ref, and there is no ref in street ball. It leaves too much room for subjective decisions. So I say once the ball leaves your hands after shot, pass or just losing the ball altogether you cant touch it unless it hits rim or backboard or another player, or else it’s a travel.
If you can’t determine whether or not a shot was a legitimate shot attempt, you should watch more basketball.
Every violation is subjective if the rules aren’t well understood. How many times do you see guys carrying the ball trying to bust an And1 move?
NBA RULES
which should be the only rules you think about as it is the highest level
State that a player who attempts a field goal may not be the first to touch the ball if it fails to touch the backboard, basket ring or another player..
THEREFORE YOU ARE WRONG.
Does that mean you’ll be calling 3-seconds in the key for offense/defense, 8 seconds to get across half court, hand checking, inbounding the ball while you’re in bounds, carrying, travelling, and 2 free throws for a shooting foul?
Instead of picking and choosing which rules you want to play with, try thinking about the intent of the rule.