Basketball · Official Basketball Rules
Law 42: Team Fouls: Penalty
2 parts · 2 tests · 20 facts · updated 22 October 2026 · markdown
Law 42 deals with team fouls: how they are counted and what penalty a team faces once it has committed too many in a quarter. A team foul is a personal, technical, disruptive, flagrant or disqualifying foul committed by a player. Fouls by others on the bench do not count, so neither a head coach's technical nor a substitute's technical on the bench is a team foul.
A team is in the penalty after it has committed 4 team fouls in a quarter, which means its fourth foul is still penalised in the usual way and the penalty applies from then on. Team fouls committed during an interval of play count in the following quarter or overtime, and every overtime is treated as part of the 4th quarter, so a team already in the penalty at the end of regulation stays there.
Once the penalty applies, a personal foul on a player who is not shooting is penalised by 2 free throws instead of a throw-in, attempted by the player who was fouled. That holds off the ball as well, for example on a cutter. Shooting fouls are penalised as usual. The exception is a personal foul by the team in control of the ball, or the team entitled to it: the opponents then get a throw-in, not free throws.
The facts below cover which fouls count, how they carry across intervals and overtime, and how the penalty free throws are awarded.
42.421Counting Team Fouls
What counts, four per quarter, intervals and overtime.
Test 1What counts and whenTake a test
A team foul is a personal, technical, disruptive, flagrant or disqualifying foul committed by a player.
Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.1.1 · recall
A team is in the penalty after it has committed 4 team fouls in a quarter.
Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.1.1 · recall
Team fouls in an interval of play count in the following quarter or overtime.
Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.1.2 · applied
All team fouls in each overtime are considered as committed in the 4th quarter.
Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.1.3 · recall
Overtime fouls count with the 4th quarter, so Team B stays in the penalty.
Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.1.3 · applied
Team fouls are fouls committed by a player; a head coach's technical does not count.
Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.1.1 · applied
A disqualifying foul by a player is one of the five kinds that count.
Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.1.1 · recall
After 4 team fouls in a quarter, a team is in the penalty.
Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.1.1, 42.2.1 · applied
Interval fouls go to the next period; every overtime counts as the 4th quarter.
Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.1.2, 42.1.3 · applied
Team fouls are fouls by a player; a substitute's technical on the bench is not one.
Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.1.1 · applied
42.422The Team-Foul Penalty
Free throws instead of a throw-in, and the team in control.
Test 1Free throws in the penaltyTake a test
In the team-foul penalty, personal fouls on a player not shooting are penalised by 2 free throws.
Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.2.1 · recall
The player on whom the foul was committed attempts the free throws.
Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.2.1 · recall
A personal foul by the team in control is penalised by a throw-in for the opponents, even in the penalty.
Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.2.2 · applied
Being owed the ball counts the same as holding it: no free throws.
Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.2.2 · applied
The penalty starts after 4 team fouls; this is the 4th foul, so a throw-in follows.
Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.1.1, 34.2.1 · applied
The penalty replaces the throw-in for fouls on non-shooters; shooting fouls are penalised as usual.
Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.2.1 · applied
Away from the ball still counts: the cutter was not shooting.
Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.2.1 · applied
Off the ball, not shooting, in the penalty: 2 free throws for the fouled player.
Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.2.1 · applied
A foul by the team in control gives the opponents a throw-in, not free throws.
Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.2.2 · applied
Four team fouls already, and A7 was not shooting: two shots for him.
Source: FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.2.1 · applied
Questions people ask
- What counts as a team foul in basketball?
- Any personal, technical, disruptive, flagrant or disqualifying foul committed by a player. A head coach's technical or a substitute's technical on the bench is not a team foul.
- When is a team in the penalty?
- After it has committed 4 team fouls in a quarter. The fourth foul itself is penalised as usual, for example with a throw-in.
- Do team fouls in overtime start again from zero?
- No. All team fouls in each overtime are considered as committed in the 4th quarter, so a team in the penalty stays in it.
- What happens to a foul committed during an interval?
- It counts in the following quarter or overtime.
- Who shoots the team-foul penalty free throws?
- The player on whom the foul was committed attempts the 2 free throws, even when he was away from the ball.
- Does a foul by the team with the ball lead to free throws in the penalty?
- No. A personal foul by the team in control, or by the team entitled to the ball, is penalised by a throw-in for the opponents.
Sources
FIBA Official Basketball Rules 2026 (v1.1), Article 42 (paraphrased in original wording; original questions authored from the Rules, not reproduced)
- FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.2.16
- FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.1.15
- FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.2.23
- FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.1.32
- FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.1.21
- FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.1.1, 42.2.11
- FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.1.2, 42.1.31
- FIBA OBR 2026, Art. 42.1.1, 34.2.11