Basketball: Changes to game dribbling down

Significant global changes made to the fundamental rules of basketball are slowly trickling down to Dunedin.

By the end of 2012, all high and medium level Fiba competitions will be governed by new rules.

The organisation then hopes to unify all existing game rules to get to the point where there is one set of rules for the game of basketball worldwide.

The changes, decided on by the Fiba Technical Commission before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, are being introduced incrementally over a four-year period.

The most notable changes relate to court dimensions.

The three-point line has retreated from 6.25m from the hoop to a distant 6.75m. The new line is deeper in the corners than the minimum NBA three-point requirement of 6.71m, although the NBA arc stretches to 7.25m at the top of the key.

Basketball Otago operations manager Greg Brockbank said the redefinition of court parameters should lead to better offensive spacing and to more open jump shots on the perimeter.

The restricted area - known as the paint has also been altered.

It is now thinner on the baseline, and includes a no-charge zone under the hoop that will be familiar to NBA fans.

A raft of rule changes, including regulations surrounding technical fouls, shot clock violations, goaltending, backcourt violations and travelling, have also been made.

Players are also no longer allowed to wear T-shirts under their uniforms.

Effectively, the changes will promote the style of basketball played in the NBA, which heavily relies on the dribble penetration of a golden era of young guards to break down defences.

So far, only one court at the Edgar Centre bears the new markings, although Brockbank hopes all the courts will be re-marked by the end of next year.