The NBA has officially announced a rule change in an attempt to cut down the "Hack-A-Shaq" gameplan which has recently been used on the likes of DeAndre Jordan, Dwight Howard, Hassan Whiteside, Andre Drummond and more.
To prevent teams from committing excessive away from the ball fouls, and ruining the flow of the game, the league has approved a rule that will reward the fouled player with one free throw AND the ball for any away from the ball foul committed in the last 2 minutes of EVERY quarter.
Previously, the rule was to grant the fouled team one shot and the ball only during the final 2 minutes of the 4th and overtime periods.
Here's the official statement from the league regarding the rule change, which will go into effect next season:
“The current rule for away-from-the-play fouls applicable to the last two minutes of the fourth period (and last two minutes of any overtime) – pursuant to which the fouled team is awarded one free throw and retains possession of the ball – will be extended to the last two minutes of each period.”
In addition to the "Hack-A-Shaq" rule change, the league will be following a similar protocol for fouls during an inbounds.
“For inbounds situations, a defensive foul at any point during the game that occurs before the ball is released by the inbounder (including a “legitimate” or “natural” basketball action such as a defender fighting through a screen) will be administered in the same fashion as an away-from-the-play foul committed during the last two minutes of any period (i.e., one free throw and possession of the ball).”
“The flagrant foul rules will be used to protect against any dangerous or excessively hard deliberate fouls. In particular, it will presumptively be considered a flagrant foul if a player jumps on an opponent’s back to commit a deliberate foul. Previously, these type of fouls were subject to being called flagrant but were not automatic.”
[Via]
