Fouls in basketball

A foul is a rule violation called by an official, usually for illegal contact. A statkeeper tracks three kinds: personal fouls, technical fouls, and charges taken. Officials call personal and technical fouls. Charges taken is a defensive stat many coaches keep.

Personal fouls

A personal foul is illegal contact with an opponent, such as holding, pushing, reaching in or blocking. Personal fouls matter twice. A player who reaches the limit fouls out, and a team's fouls in a period decide when the other team shoots bonus free throws.

The limit depends on the rule set. Under NFHS rules, which most U.S. high schools play, a player fouls out on their fifth foul. In the NBA a player fouls out on their sixth.

An offensive foul is also a personal foul. The FIBA manual records it as a personal foul and a turnover against the same player.

Technical fouls

A technical foul is usually for unsporting conduct, such as arguing with an official, taunting or hanging on the rim. Officials can call one on a player, a coach, or the bench. The FIBA manual records technicals on the coach or bench against the coach.

How a technical counts toward fouling out depends on the rule set, so check your league's rules. Keep technicals in a separate column from personal fouls, so you can see each kind.

Charges taken

A defender takes a charge when they set a legal guarding position and the ball handler runs into them, and the official calls an offensive foul. The ball handler gets a personal foul and a turnover. The defender gets a charge taken.

Charges taken is not part of the standard box score in most rule sets. Coaches track it because it rewards a defender for giving up their body to get the ball back. It is not a steal, because the defender never touched the ball.

Judgment calls

Shooting or not? A shooting foul is one the official calls "in the act of shooting". A foul that leads to free throws only because of team fouls is a non-shooting foul.

Blocking or charging? That call belongs to the official. Record what they call, not what you saw.

How a statkeeper records it

Watch the official's signal for the player's number. Keep a running count next to each player, because coaches ask "how many does he have?" all game. Mark technicals and charges taken in their own columns.

Say it to HoopReads

“foul on Marcus”

“Carter reaches in, that's his third”

“technical on Andre”

“Marcus takes the charge”

Related stats

Offensive fouls are also turnovers, and shooting fouls lead to free throws. Back to the basketball stats guide.