Can someone explain how the NBA got so lax around travelling? It's so weird. It's such a basic basketball concept. I listen to people who are clearly new to basketball or never played, and they legit have no idea how travel rules work in the NBA and it's likely because refs don't call it. - ThreadSky

thedoctorlane.bsky.social • 100 days ago

Can someone explain how the NBA got so lax around travelling? It's so weird. It's such a basic basketball concept. I listen to people who are clearly new to basketball or never played, and they legit have no idea how travel rules work in the NBA and it's likely because refs don't call it.

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boredtrevor.bsky.social•100 days ago

The NBA has a different, laxer travelling rule to all other versions of the sport, so there are moves that are legal in the NBA that would be elsewhere. (The NBA has the concept of a "gather step" + two more, whereas in the rest of basketball it's first foot down is a pivot foot).

boredtrevor.bsky.social•100 days ago

When you actually read the rulebooks of FIBA and NBA, they look very similar, but the key difference is in interpretation of what constitutes "gathering" the ball. NBA formalised that in 2019 but the players had been pushing the boundaries for quite a while (see https://official.nba.com/new-language-in-nba-rule-book-regarding-traveling-violations/)

boredtrevor.bsky.social•100 days ago

IIRC the NBA moved to the current "two steps" rule in the mid 2000's because the players were constantly travelling according to the old rule back then and they wanted to simplify it. But the effect was that over time players got more and more creative with the increased freedom of the new system.

boredtrevor.bsky.social•100 days ago

I think the video on this page starting at 4:41 shows how the NBA rules things differently: https://official.nba.com/video-traveling-and-the-gather/. What Brogdon does in the first clip would probably be considered a travel in other leagues - since he is touching the floor when he catches it, that should be his pivot.

boredtrevor.bsky.social•100 days ago

Actually, just watch the second video on that page - it shows a bunch of stuff that you'd think would be illegal but the NBA treats as OK.

thedoctorlane.bsky.social•100 days ago

Thanks! So, sometime in the early 2000s the rules get more lax. I was aware of the gather rule in the NBA. I'm just seeing way more than 2 steps so regularly, and those buzzer beaters this week where both traveled are really proof that something is either not working or it's working as intended.

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