Goaltending (basketball)

Common card · No. 433022

Goaltending is a violation of the rules in the sport of basketball. It consists of certain forms of player interference with the ball while it is on its way to the basket. It is goaltending if a player touches the ball when it is: (a) in downward flight; (b) above the basket rim and within an imaginary cylinder projecting above the rim; (c) already touching the rim; or (d) (varying at certain levels of the sport) after it has touched the backboard and has a chance of going in the hoop. In the NCAA and NBA, goaltending is also called if the ball has already touched the backboard while being above the height of the rim in its flight, regardless of it being in an upward or downward flight or whether it is directly above the rim. Goaltending in this context defines by exclusion what is considered a legal block of a field goal. In high school and NCAA basketball, goaltending is also called when a player interferes with a free throw at any time in its flight towards the basket.

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