The calls of fans have finally been heard as the NBA is working towards penalizing players for transition take fouls, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The transition take foul has been one of the most contentious plays in basketball. It refers to a foul being committed after a turnover to prevent a quick transition basket with the defensive team being outnumbered.
The NBA had introduced a clear-path foul, that doesn’t allow players to foul when the ball is ahead of the tip of the circle in the backcourt and no defender is ahead of the offensive player with the transition scoring opportunity. If the foul deprives the offensive player of a chance to score, the offensive player will be awarded two free throws and the ball back.
That is what the NBA is looking to do about transition take fouls that often take place behind the back-court when a team can’t get back on defense in time to stop the bucket.
The NBA is eyeing a rule change to the “transition take foul” that would award the offensive team with one free throw and retaining possession, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Board of Governors vote set for July. The change is similar to current rules in G League.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 17, 2022
This will be a very welcome change, as the transition take foul has become a hot talking point this season. The Nikola Jokic-Markieff Morris altercation earlier this season led to Jokic pushing Morris after Markieff committed a rough take foul on the league MVP. Chris Paul is another player often singled out for his use of take fouls.
The punishment for take fouls is going to be two free throws for the offensive team and them retaining the ball. This should heavily de-incentivize players from trying to use take fouls in a tactical way.
Now, all that needs to be ironed out is the implementation of the rule and how the referees will call it. The rule won’t be in effect before the 2023-24 season (if it passes through the board) so we have a few more seasons of players using take fouls to their maximum utility.
