The NBA and its Board of Governors finally got around to addressing rule changes to intentional fouls.
The League announced Tuesday that new regulations will take effect next season, though of course, not everyone is happy with the changes.
Mark Cuban told ESPN he voted against new deliberate foul rules. "Rewarding incompetence is never a good business strategy," he said.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) July 13, 2016
The hope is that we’ll see less instances of intentional hacking going forward.
From the press release:
The current rule for away-from-the-play fouls applicable to the last two minutes of the fourth period (and last two minutes of any overtime) – pursuant to which the fouled team is awarded one free throw and retains possession of the ball – will be extended to the last two minutes of each period.
For inbounds situations, a defensive foul at any point during the game that occurs before the ball is released by the inbounder (including a “legitimate” or “natural” basketball action such as a defender fighting through a screen) will be administered in the same fashion as an away-from-the-play foul committed during the last two minutes of any period (i.e., one free throw and possession of the ball).
The flagrant foul rules will be used to protect against any dangerous or excessively hard deliberate fouls. In particular, it will presumptively be considered a flagrant foul if a player jumps on an opponent’s back to commit a deliberate foul. Previously, these type of fouls were subject to being called flagrant but were not automatic.
