Below are the 16 Rules in Basketball Game :
- Only five players per team on the court. In the NBA, WNBA, and NCAA basketball, each team can play a maximum number of five players on the court. If a team breaks this main rule, they will lose possession of the ball. Sometimes this inadvertently happens, particularly at low levels of the game, when substitute players check into the game and others don’t leave the court in time.
- Score more than your opponent to win. To win the game, a team must score more field goals than the other team. A field goal refers to any basket a player scores during gameplay. Field goals can be worth two or three points. Field goals shot from inside the arc that designates the three-point line on the court are worth two points. Field goals shot from outside the arc are worth three points. Field goals can take the form of jump shots, layups, slam dunks, and tip-ins.
- Score within the shot clock. Teams have a limited amount of time to shoot the ball during a given possession. In the NBA and WNBA, teams are allowed 24 seconds of possession before they must shoot, while NCAA teams are allowed 30 seconds. A shot clock mounted above the hoop on each side of the court displays and counts down the time allotted. If the shot clock elapses, the opposing team forfeits the ball and becomes the defensive team.
- Dribbling advances the ball. Basketball players may only advance the ball by passing or dribbling (bouncing the ball on the floor) as they move up and down the court. If a player stops dribbling, they may not resume; instead, they must pass the ball or shoot it. If an offensive player with possession of the ball stops then continues dribbling before passing or shooting, the referee will call a “double dribble,” and the opposing team gets the ball. Additionally, players may only advance the ball by dribbling it. If they run while holding the ball, they are traveling. Referees will issue a traveling call, and possession of the ball will go to the opposing team.
- The offense has five seconds to inbound the ball. After the offense scores a basket, the opposing team receives possession of the ball. One of their players has to inbound the ball from a designated spot on the sidelines of the court to resume gameplay. The player has five seconds to pass the ball to another player on his team, or else the team loses possession. The defender cannot contact the ball when the offensive player is trying to inbound it, or the referee can issue a technical foul.
- The offense must advance the ball. Once an offensive team advances the ball past the half-court line, the ballhandler may not cross that line again, or a referee will award possession of the ball to the opposing team.