Official Men's Basketball Rules
Team
- Team rosters shall include a minimum of 8 players.
- The minimum number of players on the court is 3.
- All players present for the game must have playing time on the court if they want to play in the game.
- 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 20 point penalty and the unregistered player will be removed.
- Team Captains reserve the right to do a Roster Check of the Opposing Team if there is suspected illegal players.
- 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
- Each game shall be officiated by at least 1 League-Assigned Referee who will be responsible for on court calls.
- Each game will be scored by at least 1 League-Assigned Field Manager who will keep the game time, score, and track fouls by players/teams.
- 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.
- 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
- All equipment shall be provided by the League.
- Tennis shoes are required. No sandals, bare feet, or dress shoes.
- Players will wear Red/Blue Pennies with Numbers provided by the League.
- Basketball size is 29.5." To see this size, go here: Official Basketball
Game Clock
- Each game shall contain Two 20 Minute Halves and a Halftime of approximately 2 Minutes.
- The clock shall be a running clock until the last two minutes of the second half unless the score gap is at or more than 15 points. The clock will also stop during time outs.
- There is no overtime. Games may end in a tie.
Gameplay
- Each game will commence with a jump ball. The team that does not receive the initial possession will be the first to receive possession during a tie up called by the referee. There will only be one jump ball per game.
- The following penalties will result in an automatic turnover:
- Traveling- Taking more than two steps without dribbling.
- Double Dribbling- Dribbling with two hands or restarting a dribble after you have picked up the ball.
- Carrying the ball.
- Back Court Violation- Taking the court back across the half court line once you have crossed into offensive territory unless it has been touched by the defense.
- 3-Second Violation- An offensive player spends more than 3 seconds in the lane.
- Offensive Foul- Including, but not limited to, charges, elbows, or over the back rebounds.
Scoring
- 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.
- All other field goals will be 2 points.
- All male free throws, will be worth 1 point.
- Goal-Tending will be called.
Fouls
- Fouls occur when unnecessary contact occurs between players.
- Fouls will be tracked by the score keeper. Each Player may have up to 5 Fouls per Game before they foul out. A Technical Counts as 2 Personal Fouls.
- Team Fouls will be tracked per half and will reset at halftime. 6 team fouls will result in a 1-And-1 Bonus, 10 team fouls will result in a two free throw Bonus.
- A foul committed on a shooter will result in free throws. 2 for regular field goals; 3 for 3-pointers.
- The space closest to the goal shall not be occupied. The 2nd spot shall be occupied by a player on the opposing team of the shooter. Then players shall fill in spaces alternating between teams. Any players not lined up on the lane must be beyond the 3 point line.
- Players may not cross into the lane until the ball leaves the hands of the player attempting the free throw.
- Fouls committed on non-shooters will result in restart of play. This included over-the-back rebounding fouls.
Out-of-Bounds
- The team that last touches the ball before it goes out of bounds will lose possession of the ball.
- The team awarded possession will inbound the ball from the spot it goes out of play.
- The player inbounding the ball must be stationary no matter what the time on the clock. There is no running the baseline.
Defense/Strategy
- There are no defensive restrictions concerning half-court or full-court defense. Teams may set up any defensive strategy they wish.
- Substitutes may not occur on the fly. They must occur during stoppage of play or during a time out. The Field Manager keeping score shall buzz in all substitutes or be notified of the sub during time outs.
- Time Outs- Each team receives one 30-second time out per half. They can only be called when you have possession of the ball.
Mercy Rule
- A game shall be called if a team is down by 30+ points with 10 minutes remaining in the 2nd half. In the Playoffs, a game is called if a team gets up by 20+ points in the Final 5 Minutes.
Forfeits
- Teams must be ready to play and meet game start requirements at the posted game time. Any team not ready to play at this time, after a 5 minute grace period, shall forfeit and the opposing team shall take a default win. The team that is present will win 30 - 0.
- If neither team is ready to play, both teams shall forfeit.
- Any team found to be playing with a player not registered with the League or team shall forfeit the game.