Shooting Foul in Basketball: Basic Information Explained

What is a basic definition of a shooting foul in basketball

A shooting foul is an infraction that occurs during a basketball game when a defender commits illegal contact against an opposing player who is in the act of shooting near the basket or near the perimeter areas of the court.

What is general criteria to determine a shooting foul

Gathering of the ball and upward shooting motion occurs

If an offensive player in possession of the ball gathers it, starts an upward shooting motion, and continues that motion prior to or at the moment the ball is released on a try for a field goal, then that player will generally be considered in the act of shooting.

From there, if a defender commits illegal contact with the offensive player who is in the act of shooting, then the referee can assess a shooting foul against that defender.

Ball does not need to be released from player’s hands

It should also be noted that the ball does not necessarily have to be released from the offensive player’s hands to determine a shooting foul.

This part of the rule is valid because the arms of the offensive player may be held by the defender, which would make it difficult or impossible for that player to actually release the ball towards the basket.

Essentially, as long as the referee could judge that the offensive player was able to gather the ball, start an upward shooting motion, and continue that motion, in this case, prior to the releasing of the ball, then that could still be considered a foul in the act of shooting, or more simply, a shooting foul by the defender.

No gathering nor upward shooting motion could result in a non-shooting foul

Conversely, if an offensive player does not gather the ball, nor start an upward shooting motion, nor continue that motion prior to a defender’s illegal contact, then that would lead to the assessment of a defensive foul that is not in the act of shooting or more simply, a non-shooting foul.

For example, let’s say that an offensive point guard has possession of the ball near the top while being guarded by a defensive point guard.

Next, let’s say that the offensive point guard attempts to blow by the defensive point guard with a basic stutter step move to attack the rim.

Following that, let’s say the defensive point guard makes illegal contact by way of a hand check or body bump that primarily affects the speed, quickness, rhythm, and/or balance of the offensive point guard.

However, immediately after the illegal contact, let’s say that the offensive point guard gathers the ball and releases it to attempt a field goal.

When that occurs, there is a very high chance that the referee would assess a non-shooting foul against the defensive point guard as opposed to a shooting foul.

This would happen because the offensive point guard gathered the ball, started the upward shooting motion, and continued that motion with the releasing of the ball after the illegal contact.

In other words, for this simple example, the defender committed the illegal contact before the offensive point guard was in the act of shooting and therefore, it is very likely the defender’s infraction would be a non-shooting foul.

What are common penalties for a shooting foul

Personal foul

When a defender commits illegal contact, which leads to a shooting foul assessment by the referee, it will be recorded, typically by the official scorer, and added to the total number of personal fouls for that defender.

Team foul

In addition to a personal foul being added, the amount of team fouls will increase by one within that period of the basketball game.

Free throw(s)

After the defender commits illegal contact, which leads to a shooting foul assessment, the offensive player who was fouled will have an opportunity to shoot at least one free throw attempt.

The number of free throws for the shooting foul would mainly be determined by the value of the offensive player’s field goal attempt as well as if that field goal was a successful make or not.

Essentially, if the offensive player gets fouled while in the act of shooting a field goal that is worth two points such as a layup, floater, or mid-range jump shot but that field goal is not successful, then the offensive player would have an opportunity to shoot two free throws.

On the other hand, if the offensive player gets fouled while in the act of shooting a two-point field goal that is successful, then the offensive player would only shoot one free throw.

Similarly, if the offensive player gets fouled while in the act of shooting a field goal that is worth three points, in essence, a three-point jump shot, but that field goal is not successful, then the offensive player would have an opportunity to shoot three free throws.

Conversely, if the offensive player gets fouled while in the act of shooting a three-point field goal that is successful, then the offensive player would, once again, only shoot one free throw.

It should be noted as well that if a shooting foul leads to the requisite number of team fouls to initiate the bonus or penalty situation for the opposing team, one or more bonus free throws will not be given to that team.

Essentially, bonus free throws only apply when a defensive player commits illegal contact via a non-shooting foul, or a foul that is not in the act of shooting as opposed to a shooting foul.

Put another way, if an offensive player gets fouled while in the act of shooting, that same player will have an opportunity to shoot one or more free throws as mentioned previously but those will not be bonus free throws.