Take foul penalty stiffened; play-in to stay
The NBA has completed the process of changing the transition take foul rule, ending years of discussion about what to do with the long-maligned tactic.
And, also as expected, the play-in tournament is going to be around for the foreseeable future.
The league’s board of governors finalized those two matters Tuesday, approving a plan to award one free throw when teams are disadvantaged by the take foul — as well as removing the “experimental” designation from the play-in element to the postseason.
“Generally, it was upbeat coming out of our meeting,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “People are thrilled that as we head into next season, it looks like we’ll be on our normal track in terms of when the season starts, in terms of our protocols around the game, particularly around the health and safety of our players.”
It wasn’t a surprise that the league changed the penalty on take fouls; Silver told The Associated Press in early June that it would change, though he cautioned that the new rule might still be tweaked in future years.
The take foul —– in which the defender does not make a play on the ball — is what the league classifies as one that occurs either “during a transition scoring opportunity or immediately following a change of possession and before the offensive team had the opportunity to advance the ball.” The exception is in the final 2 minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime.
The new penalty for such a foul is one free throw, which may be attempted by any player on the offended team in the game at the time the foul was committed, along with continued possession.
Silver addressed a number of other topics, including:
Revenue: The NBA is coming off a massive financial year, with revenue topping $10 billion for the first time and basketball-related income reaching $8.9 billion, another record.
Silver said the numbers are particularly strong considering the league is still dealing with a pandemic, and it wasn’t that long ago when some questioned whether sports could survive the coronavirus – at least in the sense of whether people would want to gather again.
Play-in Tournament:
The play-in tournament has generally been considered a success, so it was no surprise that the league is keeping it around.
The play-in tournament — in its current form — has been used in each of the last two seasons, where the teams that finish seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th in the East and West meet to determine the final two playoff spots in each conference.
It’s been a hit, primarily because it tends to give a March Madness feel — four elimination games before the playoffs even begin — and gives more teams incentive to not tank for better odds in the draft lottery.
ABA Payments: The NBA and the NBPA announced a new program — jointly funded — to provide payments to approximately 115 ABA players who played at least three seasons but didn’t qualify for NBA pensions. They’ll get “recognition payments” of $3,828 per year of service.
Silver said the league and the players “felt a need to act on behalf of these former ABA players who are aging and, in many cases, facing difficult economic circumstances.”
JAMES PLAYS DEFENSE ON GRINER’S PLIGHT
LeBron James went on the defensive Wednesday after a snippet promoting his talk show “The Shop” left viewers with the impression that in his opinion WNBA star Brittney Griner might be rethinking her country’s commitment to her while she sits in a Russian prison.
“My comments on ‘The Shop’ regarding Brittney Griner wasn’t knocking our beautiful country,” the
NBA star tweeted Tuesday night. “I was simply saying how she’s probably feeling emotionally along with so many other emotions, thoughts, etc. inside that cage she’s been in for over 100+ days!”
The show clip that generated the controversy ran Tuesday. Offering little context, it showed James asking “How can she feel like America has her back?”
“I would be feeling like, ‘Do I even want to go back to America?’ “James said in his TV show promo.