NBA Expands Coach's Challenge to Include Missed Fouls on Out-of-Bounds Plays

Author:

Anastasia Petkov

|Published: September 12th, 2024

The NBA has broadened the scope of coach's challenge reviews, allowing referees to call fouls missed on out-of-bounds plays after a review.

This change was approved by the NBA's Board of Governors during their meeting in New York, following a unanimous recommendation by the league's competition committee.

The new rule will take effect this season.

Previously, reviews on out-of-bounds plays were limited to determining possession.

Now, officials can assess if a foul should have been called if the review clearly shows one occurred proximate to the out-of-bounds event.

This adjustment aims to improve game accuracy and fairness by correcting missed calls that significantly impact play outcomes.

An example of such a scenario occurred in last season's playoffs, where Dallas' Kyrie Irving fouled Minnesota's Jaden McDaniels during a play where the ball went out of bounds.

Despite a clear foul seen in the review, the ball was awarded to Dallas because no foul was originally called on the court.

Under the new rules, the foul could be called retroactively if the review shows it meets the set criteria.

The criteria for assessing fouls during these challenges include the involvement of the same players in both the foul and the out-of-bounds action, and the timing of the foul relative to the violation.

If these conditions are met, the NBA Replay Centre and on-court officials can make the foul call during the review process.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was scheduled to speak about the changes later on Tuesday, signalling the league's ongoing efforts to refine officiating standards and maintain the integrity of the game.