Foul shots

Foul shots in basketball are generally awarded after a personal foul. There are a couple of situations when foul shots can be awarded. The first and most common is when a player is fouled while in the act of shooting the ball, in which situation he/she receives two foul shots (for a two-point shot) or three foul shots (for a three-point shot). If the player makes the shot he/she was attempting and is fouled, the number of foul shots is reduced to one, and the basket counts. This is typically called a three-point play, and happens most frequently (though is still uncommon as a whole) during a drive to the basket. The second is when the team that fouls the opponent is over the team foul limit, and two foul shots are awarded no matter where or when the foul occurred, unless it occurred while the offensive player was shooting a three-point shot (where he/she gets three foul shots). Finally, if a foul is extremely aggressive and/or an act is committed that is flagrant (such as extensive arguing with a referee), a technical foul is given, and the opponent gets two foul shots (with an arbitrary choice of shooter) and possession of the ball afterwards.

Fouls "off the ball" (fouls that do not occur on the shooter or near the ball) are handled like the second case above in most situations, however, when there are only 2 minutes left on the clock of either half, obvious off-ball fouls when the fouling team is over the limit are rewarded with one shot and possession of the ball. It is therefore common for a losing team to purposely foul players such as Shaquille O'Neal, a dominant player but a terrible foul shooter, up until the 2 minute mark, and then play intense defense for the rest of the game.