Scope
The ruleset and date used here
This page applies the FIBA Official Basketball Rules 2024 v1.0a and Official Basketball Rules Interpretations 2024 v1.0a, both valid from 1 October 2024. They are the current FIBA five-a-side documents on this page's check date, 26 August 2026. The controlling provisions are Articles 14 and 28–30, with Article 50 for shot-clock operation and Appendix F for replay.
FIBA has published Official Basketball Rules 2026 v1.1, valid from 1 October 2026. Its Articles 28–30 retain the core 8-second, 24/14-second and returned-ball tests, but that future edition must not be applied before its effective date. FIBA 3x3, domestic federations, schools and local competitions are outside this page's controlling scope.
First principle
A touch is not necessarily control
FIBA Article 14 says team control starts when a player controls a live ball by holding or dribbling it, or has a live ball at the player's disposal for a throw-in. Team control continues while teammates pass the ball. It ends when an opponent gains control, the ball becomes dead, or the ball leaves a player's hands on a shot for a goal or free throw.
This distinction resolves many disputed plays. A defender who merely taps a pass has not necessarily taken control, so the original team's shot clock normally continues. But that defensive touch can still make the defender the last player to touch the ball in the frontcourt, which may make the offense's recovery in its backcourt legal.
Shot clock
Release in time, then reach the ring
Under FIBA Article 29.1, the shot clock begins when a player gains control of a live ball on the court. On a throw-in it begins when the ball touches or is legally touched by a player on the court and the thrower's team remains in control. The team must attempt a shot within 24 seconds.
A legal clock-beating attempt has two requirements: the ball must leave the shooter's hands before the signal, and after release it must enter the basket or touch the ring. The backboard alone is not enough. Team control ends on release of the shot, but whether the attempt satisfies Article 29 is decided by what happens next.
At zero
The horn does not always end the play
- The ball enters: disregard the shot-clock signal and count the goal.
- The ball touches the ring and misses: disregard the signal and continue play. The next control determines the reset.
- The ball misses the ring: a shot-clock violation has occurred, unless the opponents gain immediate and clear control; in that case FIBA tells officials to disregard the signal and let play continue.
The ball therefore remains live while an in-time shot is in flight long enough to determine the result. Goaltending and basket-interference restrictions still apply. Where the approved equipment has yellow lighting around the top of the backboard, Article 29.1.2 makes that light take precedence over the sound.
24, 14 or unchanged?
FIBA shot-clock resets depend on control and throw-in location
- New control during live play: the new offensive team receives 24 seconds, whether that control begins in the frontcourt or backcourt.
- The ball touches the opponents' ring: if the previous offensive team regains control, it receives 14 seconds; if the opponents gain control, they receive 24.
- A defensive foul or violation stops play: if the same offense will throw in from its backcourt, reset to 24. From its frontcourt, keep 14 or more seconds; if 13 or fewer remain, reset to 14.
- A defender only sends the ball out: ordinary out-of-bounds does not by itself earn the offense a reset. Continue with the remaining time, subject to special post-ring and late-game provisions.
- The offense commits a technical foul but keeps the ball: Article 29.2.4 says the clock continues from where it stopped.
These are the common cases, not a substitute for every penalty administration in Article 29. Late-game advancement after a time-out and penalties that prescribe a frontcourt throw-in have their own placement and clock instructions.
Eight seconds
When the backcourt count begins
FIBA Article 28.1.1 starts the 8-second period when a player in the backcourt gains control of a live ball. After a throw-in, it starts when the ball touches or is legally touched by any player in the backcourt and the thrower's team remains in control there. The centre line itself is part of the backcourt.
The count is satisfied when the team causes the ball to go into its frontcourt. During a dribble across halfway, that does not happen until both feet of the dribbler and the ball are completely in the frontcourt. A player straddling the centre line is still in the backcourt for this purpose.
Frontcourt status
Crossing halfway is not one universal feet test
Article 28.1.2 lists several ways the ball can enter the frontcourt. The familiar both-feet-and-ball formula is specifically for a dribbler. The count also ends when:
- a ball not controlled by any player touches the frontcourt;
- the ball touches or is legally touched by an offensive player with both feet completely in the frontcourt;
- the ball touches a defender who has part of the body in the offense's backcourt; or
- the ball touches a referee who has part of the body in the offense's frontcourt.
That is why freezing only the ball over the painted centre line can produce the wrong answer. The method by which the ball is moving—and the location of the person it touches—matters.
Interrupted count
Some stoppages preserve the time already used
If the same team is awarded a backcourt throw-in after the ball goes out, its own player's injury, its own technical foul, a jump-ball situation, a double foul or cancellation of equal penalties, Article 28.1.3 continues the 8-second period with only the time remaining. The official interpretations require the referee to inform the thrower of that remainder.
For example, if a defender taps the ball out after the offense has used 4 seconds in the backcourt, the offense has 4 seconds—not a fresh 8—to reach the frontcourt. A genuine change of control ends the old count. A shot released from the backcourt just before the 8 seconds expire also ends team control; if it enters, the goal counts.
Returned ball
“Over and back” requires all three facts
FIBA calls this ball returned to the backcourt. Article 30 requires:
- The team has control of a live ball in its frontcourt.
- A player of that team is the last player to touch the ball in the frontcourt.
- A player of that team is then first to touch it while part of that player is in the backcourt, or after the ball has touched that team's backcourt.
All three are necessary. Frontcourt team control exists when a player is touching the frontcourt with both feet while holding, catching or dribbling the ball there, or while the ball is being passed between teammates in the frontcourt.
Exceptions and boundaries
A defensive deflection can legalise the recovery
- Defender last touched it: if a defender taps a frontcourt ball into the offense's backcourt, the offense may retrieve it. FIBA's interpretation gives the retrieving team a new 8-second period.
- No frontcourt control yet: a teammate's mere touch in the frontcourt may not establish frontcourt team control. If the ball returns to a teammate in the backcourt, the play can remain legal.
- Airborne new control: a player who jumps from the frontcourt, establishes a genuinely new team control while airborne, and lands in the backcourt is exempt. The player may not pass to a teammate in the backcourt before landing.
- Existing frontcourt control: the airborne exception does not rescue a receiver of the same team's frontcourt throw-in or pass. The team already controlled the ball in the frontcourt.
- The ball itself hits the backcourt: a frontcourt bounce pass that touches the backcourt before a teammate first touches it is a violation even if that teammate catches it in the frontcourt.
Outcomes
Each violation turns possession over
- Shot-clock violation: the opponents throw in from the place nearest where the game was stopped, except directly behind the backboard. Their shot clock is 24 seconds for a backcourt throw-in or 14 for a frontcourt throw-in.
- 8-second violation: the throw-in is in the opponents' frontcourt, nearest the ball when the violation occurred; if the ball was in flight toward the frontcourt, use the centre line. The opponents receive 14 seconds.
- Ball returned to backcourt: Article 30.3 awards a frontcourt throw-in nearest the infraction, except directly behind the backboard. The opponents receive 14 seconds.
These are violations, not personal fouls. No player foul is charged merely for committing one of them.
Replay
Video review is limited, not a general appeal
Where an approved FIBA Instant Replay System is in use, Appendix F permits review of whether a successful goal was released before the shot-clock signal in the last 2:00 of the fourth quarter or overtime. At the end of a quarter or overtime, officials may also determine whether and how much time should remain if an 8-second or shot-clock violation occurred before the period ended.
A head coach's challenge can reach only the situations listed in Appendix F, although its ordinary time restrictions do not apply to the challenge. There is no open-ended FIBA video review of every halfway-line or returned-ball judgment, and competitions without approved IRS equipment must decide the play on court.
Worked case 1
The shot is released but misses the ring
Situation: A1 releases before the signal. The ball strikes only the backboard, and A2 is first to touch the loose ball.
FIBA 2024 ruling: shot-clock violation. Release before zero met only the first part of Article 29.1.1; the ball neither entered nor touched the ring, and the opponents did not gain immediate and clear control.
Worked case 2
The dribbler straddles halfway at eight
Situation: A1 has one foot in each half when the 8-second period ends, with the ball bouncing in the frontcourt.
FIBA 2024 ruling: 8-second violation. During a dribble, the ball and both feet must be completely in the frontcourt; the centre line belongs to the backcourt.
Worked case 3
A defender knocks the ball backward
Situation: Team A has frontcourt control. B1 taps A1's pass into Team A's backcourt, where A2 retrieves it.
FIBA 2024 ruling: legal play. B1, not Team A, was last to touch the ball in the frontcourt, so Article 30's three-part test is incomplete. Team A receives a new 8-second period on the recovery.
Worked case 4
A pass touches the ring, then goes backward
Situation: A1 in the frontcourt throws an alley-oop. No teammate catches it; the ball touches the ring and A2 retrieves it in Team A's backcourt.
FIBA 2024 ruling: backcourt violation. A pass touching the ring can trigger a 14-second shot-clock reset, but it does not by itself end Team A's control. Team A last touched the ball in the frontcourt and first touched it after it reached the backcourt.
Decision path
How to analyse the replay
- Name the ruleset. This page's main answer is FIBA 2024 v1.0a.
- Identify team control. A touch, deflection and controlled possession are different events.
- Choose the question. Is this shot-clock expiry, failure to advance within 8 seconds, or a return after frontcourt control?
- Apply the correct location test. A dribbler, a held ball, a pass and an airborne player do not establish status in exactly the same way.
- Track the decisive event. Release and ring contact decide the shot clock; frontcourt entry decides the 8 seconds; last and first touches decide a returned ball.
- Check interruptions and new control. A whistle or defensive touch does not automatically reset either clock.
- Set the restart and display. Throw-in location and 24, 14 or remaining time come from the governing article.
NBA comparison
The headline numbers match; administration can differ
The 2025–26 Official NBA Rules also use a 24-second shot clock, a 14-second offensive-rebound reset and an 8-second backcourt limit. NBA Rule 7 likewise requires release before expiry followed by ring contact, and a defensive bat without possession does not stop the shot clock.
Do not import FIBA's restart wording into an NBA game. NBA Rule 10 awards the ball at the midcourt line after an 8-second or backcourt violation, while FIBA locates its frontcourt throw-in nearest the relevant infraction (with stated exceptions). NBA Rule 10 also lists its own events that award a new 8 seconds. NCAA, NFHS, WNBA, youth and domestic rules are not covered by this comparison and should be checked in the edition appointed for that competition.
Common mistakes
Five claims to avoid
- “The ball left the hand, so the shot beat the clock.” It must then enter or touch the ring.
- “The horn kills a legal shot in flight.” FIBA waits for that shot's result.
- “Any defensive touch resets the shot clock.” A bat without control normally leaves the old possession and time intact.
- “The ball crossed halfway, so the 8 seconds ended.” The applicable status test—not the ball's horizontal position alone—controls.
- “Going into the backcourt is always illegal.” Article 30 requires frontcourt control plus the offense's last touch in frontcourt and first touch after the return.
Official references
Governing-body sources and effective versions
Checked on 26 August 2026 against FIBA's currently effective 2024 rulebook and interpretations, FIBA's separately published 2026 v1.1 successor valid from 1 October 2026, and the NBA 2025–26 rulebook for the labelled comparison only. Competition regulations, national federation adaptations and approved replay arrangements may supplement the FIBA baseline; FIBA 3x3 and unlabelled college, school, youth or local codes are not treated as interchangeable.