Release the throw-in within five seconds.

Scope: FIBA five-a-side basketball

This page applies the FIBA Official Basketball Rules 2024, version 1.0a, and the matching Official Interpretations 2024, version 1.0a. Both took effect on 1 October 2024 and remained the published FIBA rules in force when this page was checked on 26 August 2026.

FIBA has announced changes that will take effect on 1 October 2026, including a new replay provision concerning throw-in fouls, but had not yet published the detailed replacement rulebook when this page was checked. This page therefore does not apply those future provisions early. It does not govern NBA, WNBA, NCAA, NFHS, 3x3 or a local youth competition; one verified NBA comparison appears below.

Live ball, release and clock start are different

• Ball becomes live: when it is at the thrower-in's disposal (FIBA Article 10.2).
• Five-second requirement: the thrower-in must release the ball within five seconds (Article 17.3.1).
• Game clock starts: when the ball touches or is legally touched by a player on the court (Article 49.2). The shot clock likewise starts on the court touch (Article 50.1).

Releasing the pass ends the thrower's need to beat the five-second count, but it does not itself start either clock. A pass can be in the air with the game clock still stopped.

How to rule a FIBA throw-in

1. Confirm that FIBA 2024 rules control the game and identify the awarded throw-in place.
2. Decide whether this is a designated-place throw-in or the special endline throw-in after a successful goal or successful last free throw.
3. Start the five-second period when the ball is at the thrower-in's disposal.
4. Before release, check the thrower's location, total lateral movement and whether another player crosses the boundary plane or violates the protected space.
5. After release, check whether the pass goes directly onto the court, whether the thrower touches it first and where the receiving player is located.
6. For a thrower-in violation, award the opponents the ball at the original throw-in place under Article 17.4. Treat a defender's violation, foul or interference under its separate penalty.

When the throw-in itself ends

FIBA Article 17.1.2 says the throw-in starts when the ball is at the thrower-in's disposal. It ends when any player on the court touches or legally touches the ball, when the thrower's team commits a violation, or when a live throw-in pass lodges between the ring and backboard.

A legal defensive tip therefore ends the throw-in; it does not restart the five-second count. If the pass reaches a receiver whose foot is on the boundary line, the throw-in ends on the touch and the receiver then causes an out-of-bounds violation. The next throw-in is from the place nearest that boundary touch, not automatically the original spot (Official Interpretation 17-35).

One metre laterally, as far back as space allows

On an ordinary designated-place throw-in, Article 17.3.1 lets the thrower-in move laterally in one or both directions by no more than 1 metre in total before release. The player may move directly backwards from the boundary line as far as the surroundings allow. A normal lateral step does not change the original frontcourt or backcourt status of the throw-in (Interpretation 17-36).

The player may not step onto the court while holding the ball. The thrower's hands and ball may extend over the boundary plane during the passing motion, but a defender remains responsible for not contacting or taking the ball while it is still in the thrower's hands (Interpretations 17-1 and 17-2).

The non-scoring team may use the whole endline

After a successful goal or successful last free throw, any player of the non-scoring team may take the throw-in from any place behind that team's endline. Players may move laterally or backwards and may pass the ball between team-mates behind the endline. The same single five-second period runs from the moment the ball is at the disposal of the first player out of bounds (Article 17.2.10).

That endline privilege survives a time-out or other interruption following the score. FIBA Interpretation 17-37 also preserves it when the throw-in is repeated because the defence illegally interfered. It does not attach to every endline restart: for example, after the pass has entered the court and a defender kicks it, the resulting new throw-in is from a designated place and the team may no longer range along the endline (Interpretation 17-39).

What the thrower-in may not do

Under FIBA Article 17.3.1, the thrower-in may not step onto the court with the ball, make the released ball touch out of bounds before it touches a player, touch the ball on the court before another player does, or cause the ball to enter the basket directly. The player must pass the ball; handing it to a player on the court is a violation under Interpretation 17-8.

A frontcourt throw-in may not be passed to a team-mate in the backcourt. A backcourt throw-in may be passed to either court, and the special centre-line throw-in that starts the second, third and fourth quarters and each overtime may also go to either court (Article 17.2.3 and Interpretation 17-36).

No direct score; a wedged pass is different

If an untouched throw-in pass enters the basket, no points count and the thrower's team has violated; the opponents receive the ball at the original throw-in place. If the live pass instead lodges between the ring and backboard, Article 17.1.2 and Interpretation 17-30 make it a jump-ball situation resolved by the alternating-possession procedure.

With only 0.2 or 0.1 seconds on a game or shot clock, Article 16.2.5 permits a valid goal only from a tap or direct dunk; a player cannot catch, control and then shoot in that time. With 0.3 or more, control before a shot is possible in rules terms, although the shot must still be released before time expires.

The boundary plane protects the throw-in

Before the ball has been passed across the boundary line, players other than the thrower-in may not put any part of the body over that line. Where an out-of-bounds obstruction leaves less than 2 metres behind the line, other players must also remain at least 1 metre from the thrower-in (Article 17.3.2).

Outside the last two minutes, a defender who reaches through and interferes is called for delaying the game, receives a warning communicated to the head coach and the entire team, and the throw-in is repeated. A later similar act by that team may result in a technical foul (Official Interpretations 17-2 and 17-3). Contact against the thrower can also be a personal, unsportsmanlike or disqualifying foul depending on the action; it is not reduced to a boundary warning merely because the ball is out of bounds.

Boundary interference and an off-ball foul are separate

At 2:00 or less in the fourth quarter and every overtime, the referee gives FIBA's illegal-boundary-line-crossing warning signal before the throw-in. A defender who then crosses the plane to interfere, or breaches the 1-metre protected distance where it applies, commits a violation that leads to a technical foul (Article 17.3.3). Article 36.3 awards the opponents one free throw; the team that was entitled to the throw-in then resumes from the place nearest where the ball was located.

A throw-in foul is different. Under Articles 34.1.2 and 34.2.3, it is a defensive personal foul against an opponent on the court during those same final two minutes while the ball is still with the referee or already at the thrower-in's disposal. The fouled player receives one free throw regardless of team-foul status, and the non-offending team then has a throw-in from the place nearest the foul.

A coach may advance a backcourt throw-in

When the game clock shows 2:00 or less in the fourth quarter or an overtime, the head coach of a team entitled to a backcourt throw-in may use a time-out and choose to resume either from the relevant frontcourt throw-in line or from the backcourt place nearest the stoppage (Article 17.2.4). The side of the frontcourt throw-in line depends on how and where the original throw-in arose.

The choice changes the throw-in location and can change the shot-clock setting under Article 29.2.5; it does not remove the five-second release limit. Once communicated, the choice is final for that stopped-clock period, even if another time-out follows (Official Interpretation 17-12).

The five-second count is not generally reviewable

FIBA Appendix F lists the decisions that the Instant Replay System may examine. A throw-in five-second violation is not on that list, so replay is not a general appeal of the referee's count. In IRS games, who caused the ball to go out of bounds may be reviewed by the officials in the final 2:00 of the fourth quarter or overtime, and that matter can be challenged under the Head Coach's Challenge procedure. That review question is separate from whether the thrower released within five seconds.

The pass is airborne at five seconds

Situation: under FIBA 2024 rules, A1 releases the designated-place throw-in just within the five-second period. The ball remains in the air for another second before A2 touches it.

Ruling: no five-second violation. Article 17.3.1 tests when A1 releases the ball. The game and shot clocks remain stopped until the on-court touch under Articles 49.2 and 50.1.

Two team-mates exchange the ball after a basket

Situation: after Team B scores, A1 has the ball behind Team A's endline for three seconds and passes to A2, who is also behind the endline.

Ruling: the exchange is legal, but A2 does not receive a new count. Under Article 17.2.10, Team A must pass the ball onto the court within the original five-second period that began with A1.

The receiver catches on the boundary line

Situation: A1 releases a legal throw-in and A2 catches it while one foot touches the sideline.

Ruling: A2 is out of bounds. The throw-in ended when A2 touched the ball; this is then A2's out-of-bounds violation. Under FIBA Interpretation 17-35, Team B throws in from the place nearest A2's boundary touch.

A defender reaches across at 0:54

Situation: with 54 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the referee has shown the illegal-boundary-line-crossing signal. B1 then reaches over the line to interfere before A1 passes the ball in.

Ruling: B1 is charged with a technical foul under Article 17.3.3 and Official Interpretation 17-5. Team A receives one free throw and keeps the throw-in under Article 36.3. This is the special final-two-minute consequence, not merely the ordinary delay warning used earlier in the game.

Do not confuse the throw-in count with close guarding

FIBA Article 27 creates a separate five-second rule for a player holding a live ball on the court while an opponent is in an active legal guarding position no more than 1 metre away. That player must pass, shoot or dribble within five seconds. It is not a continuation of the throw-in count and it does not apply merely because a dribbler is closely defended. Article 43.2.3 separately gives a free-throw shooter five seconds to release after the referee places the ball at the shooter's disposal.

The NBA does not use that general FIBA closely guarded count. Its distinct Rule 10, Section XVI instead limits an offensive player who dribbles with back or side to the basket in the frontcourt below the free-throw-line extended for more than five seconds. The NBA free-throw limit is ten seconds under its Rule 9, another reason not to merge the codes.

The NBA shares the five seconds, not every detail

The 2025–26 NBA Official Rules, Rule 8, Section III and Rule 10, Section III, also require release within five seconds and award the opponents the ball at the original spot for a thrower-in violation. After a score, the non-scoring team may use any point behind the endline and pass to a team-mate there.

Do not substitute NBA wording for FIBA wording: the NBA describes the designated spot as one step left or right rather than FIBA's 1-metre total lateral limit. The NBA also applies its endline freedom at the start of the second, third and fourth periods, while FIBA starts those periods with an alternating-possession throw-in at the centre line extended. NBA Rule 12A treats ordinary defensive boundary crossing as delay of game but makes it a technical foul in the last two minutes of the fourth period and overtime.

Five shortcuts that produce the wrong ruling

• “The whistle starts the count”: FIBA uses the moment the ball is at the thrower-in's disposal.
• “The pass must be caught within five seconds”: the thrower must release within five; the clocks start on the on-court touch.
• “Every endline throw-in can run the line”: the full-endline privilege follows a successful goal or successful last free throw, not every baseline restart.
• “A defender may grab the ball once it crosses the plane”: not while it remains in the thrower-in's hands.
• “All basketball five-second rules are the same”: FIBA's closely guarded rule and the NBA's back-to-the-basket rule are separate live-ball restrictions.

FIBA 2024 and NBA 2025–26 source material

• FIBA Official Basketball Rules 2024, version 1.0a — valid from 1 October 2024; Articles 9, 10, 12, 16, 17, 27, 29, 34, 36, 43, 49 and 50, plus Appendix F.
• FIBA Official Basketball Rules Interpretations 2024, version 1.0a — valid from 1 October 2024; Article 17 interpretations, especially 17-1 to 17-12 and 17-30 to 17-40.
• FIBA Official Basketball Rules hub — current-document check performed 26 August 2026.
• FIBA Central Board 2026 rules-change announcement — changes announced for 1 October 2026; detailed replacement text was still pending when checked.
• NBA 2025–26 Official Rules — Rules 8 and 10 on throw-ins and other five-second restrictions, Rule 9 on free throws and Rule 12A on defensive delay.

Source note: the operative explanation above was checked against FIBA's rulebook and official interpretations, not a general basketball summary. Competition regulations, national-federation adaptations and age-grade rules may supplement or replace this baseline; confirm the appointed rulebook before applying it outside FIBA five-a-side play.