Basket interference

In basketball, basket interference is the violation of (a) touching the ball or any part of the basket while the ball is on the rim of the basket or within the cylinder extending upwards from the rim, (b) reaching up through the basket from below and touching the ball, be it inside or outside the cylinder, or (c) pulling down on the rim of the basket so that it contacts the ball before returning to its original position. It is important to note that how the ball gets into the cylinder or onto the basket is irrelevant; e.g., a throw-in touched within the cylinder is basket interference, even though such a play could not score a goal.

There is one exception to the above: if a player dunks the ball, he may maintain contact with the ball into the cylinder and/or grab the rim (momentarily) without penalty.

When a basket interference violation is called against the defending team, the shooting team is awarded the points for the field goal as if it had been made. When a basket interference violation is called against the shooting team, no points are scored and the ball is given to the defending team. Basket interference and goaltending are the only violations in basketball for which points are automatically awarded.

For more information on basket interference in NCAA basketball, see the definition in Rule 4, Section 5 of the [http://www.ncaa.org/library/rules/2008/2008_m_w_basketball_rules.pdf 2008 NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Rules] , and the penalties in Rule 9, Section 17. In the National Basketball Association rules, basket interference and goaltending are discussed together in [http://www.nba.com/analysis/rules_11.html?nav=ArticleList RULE NO. 11-BASKETBALL INTERFERENCE-GOALTENDING] .

In FIBA and ULEB games only the (b) and (c) portions of the rule count, because the lower athletic abilities of non-NBA players make it more difficult to rake the ball off the rim.