Charging vs. Blocking Fouls

The distinction between a charging and a blocking foul has probably caused more argument than all other forms of fouls, combined.

The NBA’s Official Rules delineate 13 different characteristics that distinguish the two. It turns out it’s not as simple as determining whether or not the defender has his feet set—and, in fact, it turns out that makes no difference at all.

Let’s start with a general overview, from NBA.com:

A block/charge foul occurs when a defender tries to get in front of his man to stop him from going in that direction. If he does not get into a legal defensive position and contact occurs, it is a blocking foul. If he gets to a legal position and the offensive player runs into him it is an offensive foul.

That’s pretty straightforward. But it gets a lot more complex from there.

Legal Defensive Position

The most pivotal distinction is what exactly constitutes a legal defensive position.

Henry Abbott from Truehoop spent a day with the NBA referees, and learned a thing or two about charging vs. blocking. These are his words:

A lot of calls that look like charges are correctly called blocks. When you rewind these plays on your Tivo, don’t do what referees make fun of fans for doing: Trying to decide if the players feet were set before the contact. That’s not the standard. What you want to know is: Is the defensive player’s torso set in position before the offensive player begins his upward motion? The defense can not slide into position after the offensive player has reached this stage. Why did they set that standard at the moment of upward motion? Joe Borgia, the NBA’s director of officiating programs and development, says “because we had to set it somewhere.” He adds that “the moment of alighting is too late.” In years of watching film, however, Borgia has confidence they chose the correct moment.

That’s easily the most informative paragraph I’ve ever read about charging and blocking fouls. Read his whole account here.

The rest of the details on what constitutes legal defensive position can be bulleted in a list:

• The defender can’t move into shooter’s path once he’s started his shooting motion. This is what bails out a guy like Dwyane Wade—he’s got enough hops to start his shot early on a drive. Look up some clips on YouTube and you’ll see D-Wade jumping from the edges of the key or the bottom of the free throw circle, before any defender can get set in front of him.
• The defender has to give the shooter room to land.
• The contact has to be with the defender’s torso—you can’t draw a charge by having an arm or leg in the way.
• Blocking fouls can occur away from the ball, as well. A defender always has to give a moving player enough distance to change direction or stop, regardless of whether or not he has the ball. An offensive foul away from the ball is just an offensive foul, though, and isn’t related to charging.

Location

The catch is that charging is only called in certain areas of the floor.

Definitions are in order here. The Restricted Area is the semi-circular area directly under the basket with a 4-foot radius, shown in Example A. “Lower Defensive Box” is a term used in the NBA rulebook but rarely elsewhere, referring to the space from the lower tip of the free-throw circle to the baseline, and between the hash marks located 3′ outside the free throw lane (didn’t know these exist? Neither did I. They’re pictured in Example B). Thus, the Lower Defensive Box is the area marked in Example C.

If the play in question is drive to the basket, then the defender can not draw a charge within the Restricted Area, immediately around the basket—it will (or should) be called a blocking foul.

It seems that the point is this: The Restricted Area rule means that a defensive player can’t camp out under the basket to draw charges on drives. If the defender is outside the Restricted Area, then there is still room for the ball-carrier to change direction, get around the defender, and finish his play—but all drives end at the same place, the basket, so this rule is in place to keep a defender from hanging out right there to draw a charge.

The exception to that is if the offensive player receives a pass while within the Lower Defensive Box, then the Restricted Area rule is out and the defender can draw a charge anywhere.

The Restricted Area rule, then, isn’t necessary for post play, as it is not in effect if the ball is received inside the LDB (which is generally by a post player).

And is there an exception? Of course. The whole Restricted Area rule only applies to “secondary” defenders, meaning a defender who was not actively defending the player with the ball. On a fast break all defenders all considered secondary defenders, and it all seems moot because a drive generally occurs because the guy with the ball already beat his primary defender in the lane.

The floor location of a foul is something that is almost never mentioned on TV (unless it’s a foul on a three-pointer), but it’s unclear whether that’s because it’s a little-known rule or because it never ends up mattering. But now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

Other Thoughts

All these details are good and correct, but one point still remains to be made: Even if all these criteria are met, it doesn’t necessarily mean that a foul will even be called. It could be incidental contact, or not enough contact to merit a foul. The judgment call remains with the guy with the whistle.

The other thing to remember is the speed of the game. I just wrote almost a thousand words explaining the specifics of a charging call versus a blocking call, but the refs make their call in a fraction of a second.

It’s no excuse for sloppy officiating. But I’m glad I’m not the one having to do it.