Basketball is one of the world’s most popular sports and always draws people’s attention when it appears at major sports events like the ongoing 2018 Asian Games and the coming 2019 FIBA World Cup, not mention the NBA. However, the rules of basketball can be so different between games played in NBA and games following FIBA’s standard, that even top players get confused.

In foul-calling, there are four major differences:

First, a player will only be ejected after committing a sixth personal foul in NBA. Under FIBA rules, the number is five, requiring all players to be way more cautious when they are on the court.

Second, the five fouls in FIBA games include technical fouls. That is not the case in NBA where technical fouls are counted independently and it takes two for a player to be taken out of the court.

Third, according to FIBA rules, only multiple fouls committed in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter and the time after that will lead to free throws. In NBA, in the last two minutes of every quarter, committing multiple fouls will send your rival to the free throw line.

Fourth, after five team fouls, every newly committed foul will give the rival team two free throws in NBA, which is also known as “bonus” time. By comparison, the bonus time in FIBA games start after four fouls.

One of the main reasons of the above differences in rules between NBA and FIBA is that the two sides focus on different aspects of the game. With so many monster-level players in the league, NBA attaches more importance to making the game more enjoyable while FIBA pays more attention to equality and fairness.

The biggest impact of rule differences is on Team USA because their players follow NBA rules for most of their careers but have to learn how to play under different rules at the international tournaments. That can cause problems.

For example, at the semi-finals against Lithuania at the 2014 FIBA World Cup, Team USA’s Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins were both ejected in the fourth quarter. After the game, Davis said he was not sure why some of his movements were called fouls.

Nonetheless, FIBA rules are not necessarily weakening Team USA. Since they are much stronger than other teams in the world. Once the American players grow familiar with the rules, they can take advantage of them and become even more unstoppable. For example, with their absolute physical advantage, Team USA can push their rivals quickly into foul trouble and earn more free throws since it only takes five fouls to enter bonus time.

(Top picture: VCG Photo)