# Law 15: Player in the Act of Shooting (FIBA Official Basketball Rules)

Basketball · Law 15: Player in the Act of Shooting · Insporta Book (https://book.insporta.app/basketball/laws/law-15-player-in-the-act-of-shooting/)

Shots, taps and dunks, when the act of shooting starts and ends on jump shots and drives (redefined in 2026), what ends it after a foul, and the frontcourt rule with its exceptions.

## 15.151 Shots and the Jump Shot

Shot, tap and dunk, the jump shot's act of shooting, and what ends it after a foul.

### Test 1: Shots, taps, dunks and the jump shot

- A shot occurs when the ball is held in a player's hands and then thrown into the air towards the opponents' basket. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.1)
- A tap for a goal occurs when the ball is directed with the hand(s) towards the opponents' basket. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.1)
- A dunk occurs when the ball is forced downwards into the opponents' basket with one or both hands. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.1)
- Free throws are thrown from the hands at the basket, just like shots from play. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.1)
- It ends when the ball has left the player's hands and, for an airborne shooter, both feet have returned to the floor. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.2)
- On a jump shot the act starts when the player begins to move the shoulders and the ball upwards towards the basket. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.2)
- The act of shooting ends if an entirely new act of shooting is made. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.2)
- The act runs from the upward motion to the release and, for an airborne shooter, the landing. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.2)
- The foul falls inside the act of shooting, which ends on the landing after the release. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.2)
- Catching, looking and stepping come before; the upward move of shoulders and ball is the start. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.2)

### Test 2: After the foul

- After being fouled, a jump shooter who passes the ball off is no longer considered to have been in the act of shooting. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.7)
- Moving the ball upwards away from the basket ends the act of shooting. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.7)
- A player not facing the basket as the ball moves up is not considered to have been in the act of shooting. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.7)
- There is no relationship between the number of legal steps taken and the act of shooting. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.5)
- If the arms are held and the player is prevented from scoring, it is not essential that the ball leaves the hands. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.6)
- FIBA's changes summary cites players increasingly manipulating situations to create shooting fouls. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15; FIBA OBR 2026 changes)
- Article 15.1.2 covers jump shots and other moving shots alike; drives have their own rule in 15.1.3. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.2, 15.1.3)
- The pass after the foul takes him out of the act of shooting. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.7)
- Being held can stop the release without ending the act of shooting. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.6)
- Passing off, lifting the ball away from the basket or moving it up while facing away end the act; carrying on towards the basket does not. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.7)

## 15.152 Drives and the Frontcourt Rule

The act of shooting on a drive, and shots from the backcourt.

### Test 1: Drives and backcourt shots

- It starts when the player has gathered the ball and it comes to rest in his hands, after a dribble or a catch in the air. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.3)
- The rule describes it as an action in the frontcourt, typically starting between the offensive 3-point line and the basket. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.3)
- The player continues the shooting motion towards the basket, usually upwards. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.3)
- For a player to be in the act of shooting, the player must be in the frontcourt. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.4)
- A player may be anywhere on the court during the last action before the game clock expires for the end of a period. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.4)
- The exception also covers the last action before the shot clock expires, at any time of the game. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.4)
- The exceptions use the gather as the starting point, whatever the shot type. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.4)
- The last action before the end of a period may be an act of shooting from anywhere. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.4)
- Outside the two exceptions a player in the backcourt cannot be in the act of shooting. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.4)
- Dribbling (A, B) comes before; the gather (C) starts it, and the release (D) ends it. (Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 15.1.3)

Sources: FIBA Official Basketball Rules 2026 (v1.1), Article 15 (paraphrased in original wording; original questions authored from the Rules, not reproduced)

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