Official 5v5 Basketball Rules

Team:

  1. Team rosters shall include a minimum of 9 players.  For Co-Ed format, rosters must include 2 of each gender.
  2. The minimum number of players on the court is 3 and must have at least 1 of each gender.
  3. All players present for the game must have playing time on the court if they want to play in the game.
  4. All players must be registered with the League to play with the team. Unregistered substitutes are not permitted. Any team found to be playing with an unregistered player will receive a 15 point penalty and the unregistered player will be removed.
  5. Team Captains reserve the right to do a Roster Check of the Opposing Team if there is suspected illegal players. 
  6. Late Registration: a team may add players to the roster through the 3rd scheduled game provided the team captain approves. The league fee shall be pro-rated for the remainder of the season. All players must be formally registered with the League and paid in full prior to playing.

Officials:

  1. Each game shall be officiated by at least 1 League-assigned referee who will be responsible for on court calls.
  2. The referees may eject a player that engages in unsportsmanlike conduct.  If a Player is ejected from a game, they are suspended for the following game as well.  If in Playoffs, they are suspended for the entirety of the Playoffs.  If a 2nd Ejection occurs during the Season, that Player is suspended for the remainder of the Season.
  3. The ejected player must leave the gym immediately; failure to do so may result in removal from the league and/or a ban from all future leagues.

Equipment:

  1. All equipment shall be provided by the League.
  2. Tennis shoes are required. No sandals, bare feet, or dress shoes.
  3. Everplay Sport and Social Club Shirts will be given and must be worn.
  4. Basketball size is 29.5."  To see this size, go here: Official Basketball

Game Clock:

  1. Each game shall consist of two (2) periods of 20 minutes, with a 2 minute halftime, in which the first team to score seventy (70) points or until the twenty (40) minute game clock expires wins (whichever comes first).  The team ahead at the end of the 40 minute game clock will win.  If the game is tied, it will end in a tie during the regular season.  (Please see our Playoff Tiebreaker procedures below for information on playoffs).
  2. If there is a stoppage of play with 10 seconds or less of the end of the game and the score is within 6 points. The clock will stop The clock will start when the offensive team puts the ball back in play and remain running unless there is another dead ball or the winning team gains possession.
  3. Under 2 minutes in the second half teams will not be required to check the ball to the opposing team.  The official will still give a ready for play whistle and bounce the ball to the offensive team but they will not be required to check it.

Gameplay:

  1. Team possession will be determined by paper, rock, scissors.  The team that starts on defense in the 1st half will start with possession of the ball on offense in the 2nd half.
  2. The following penalties will result in an automatic turnover:
    1. Traveling-Taking more than two steps without dribbling.
    2. Double Dribbling- Dribbling with two hands or restarting a dribble after you have picked up the ball.
    3. Carrying the ball.
    4. Offensive Foul- Including, but not limited to, charges, elbows, or over the back rebounds.
  3. Following a dead ball, the team in possession must check the ball to the defending team prior to putting the ball in play.  The player in possession at the top of the arc is only permitted to pass the ball to begin play.  If the player in possession at the top of the arc dribbles, attempts a shot, or fails to check the ball to the defense prior to putting the ball in play, a violation will be called and the defending team awarded possession.
  4. The ball changes possession after each scored basket.
  5. When a jump ball occurs, possession shall be awarded to the defending team.
  6. Stalling is not permitted.  The Referee, at his or her discretion, will initiate a ten-second count to prevent stalling and other delays in action.  If the team in possession has not attempted a shot that is successful or has struck the rim at the expiration of the ten-second count, a violation will be called and the defending team awarded possession.
  7. A player shall not be permitted to have any part of his or her body remain in the free throw lane for more than three consecutive seconds while a live ball is in control of that player’s team.
  8. Substitutes may not occur on the fly. They must occur during stoppage of play or during a time out. 
  9. Time Outs - Each team receives two 30-second timeouts per game.  Timeouts can only be called when you have possession of the ball or if there is a play out of bounds, defense can not call timeouts during live play.

Scoring:

  1. Three Point field goals will be in affect when a line is present. Referees will signal the score keeper when a 3-point field goal is scored.  Three Point Field Goals by Females are worth 6 Points. 
  2. All other field goals will be 2 points.  Female field goals inside the three point arc are worth 4 Points.
  3. Points will automatically be awarded when a foul is called. Fouls called inside the arch will result in 2 points (4 points for females). Fouls outside of the arch will result in 3 points (6 points for females). A would called on a made basket will result in an additional 1 point.

Fouls:

  1. There are no personal foul outs in Everplay.  However, excessive fouling by (1) player can result in a warning, technical foul, and/or ejection by the on-court official.  If there is a foul that is made with no intent to go after ball, an intentional grab, or to stop a break away, or if there is a foul at or above the shoulders by a player it's a technical.
  2. 2 Technical Fouls on a player results in an ejection.
  3. Offensive fouls will result in a change of possession.

Out-of-Bounds:

1. The team awarded possession after an out of bounds play will check the ball from the top of the 3-point arc.

Playoffs Tie Breaker:

    1. If a game is tied at the end of regulation in the playoffs, the home team will have the opportunity to shoot for 1st possession of the ball from the top of the (3) point arc as they have earned the higher seed.  If they make the shot they start with the ball.  If they miss the shot, the away team will start with the ball.
   2. Overtime will be a 1 minute period. If at the end of the overtime period the score is still tied the team who began the previous overtime period on defense will have possession.

Late Arrivals / Forfeits:

  1. Teams must be ready to play and meet game start requirements within 5 minutes after the posted game time.
  2. If a team is not ready to play at 5 minutes past the posted game time, it shall incur an immediate 15 point penalty, awarded to the opposing team.
  3. If a team is still not ready to play after 10 minutes, it shall forfeit the game, with the opposing team will win by a score of 50-0
  4. The game clock will be adjusted based on how late the game is started.  For example, if a game starts 10 minutes late, both teams will play a 10 minute 1st half.

Cancellation Policy:

  1. Email & Text Alerts are primarily used to inform participants of canceled games due to inclement weather.  Obviously, in basketball this rarely occurs, if ever.  These cancellation decisions typically don't occur before 4pm the day of the game. Participants should always assume their game is being played as scheduled unless they hear otherwise.
  2. Everplay Sport & Social Club will make all efforts to reschedule up 2 weeks of games per season due to weather related cancellations.  Any cancellations after that, may not be made up due to time and scheduling constraints.
Everplay Sponsors/Partners: