Passport drama leaves NBL championship MVP stranded in US; United star\u2019s season over<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n\u201cWe explored a range of new concepts for the Blitz only \u2013 they were never on the table for the regular season. We\u2019ve worked closely with Basketball Australia, and we\u2019re grateful for their support and guidance. The only changes for this season will be the FIBA approved rules which were published in June.\u201d<\/p>\n
While those proposed Blitz concepts will not go ahead as things stand, the new FIBA rules are a different story, with several changes set to alter how games are officiated from October 1.<\/p>\n
The key FIBA rule changes<\/b><\/p>\n
Unsportsmanlike fouls replaced by \u2018disruptive\u2019 and \u2018flagrant\u2019 fouls<\/b><\/p>\n
The traditional unsportsmanlike foul will be split into two classifications. A disruptive foul<\/b> will cover less severe offences, such as deliberately stopping a transition without making a legitimate play on the ball, while a flagrant foul<\/b> will be reserved for more serious, reckless, dangerous or excessive contact.<\/p>\n
Disruptive fouls will not count towards an automatic ejection, while flagrant fouls will.<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Bryce Cotton of the 36ers hits the floor after a shove from Matthew Dellavedova of the Sydney Kings during game four of the NBL Grand Final series between Adelaide 36ers and Sydney Kings at Adelaide Entertainment Centre, on April 01, 2026, in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Mark Brake\/Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nTechnical fouls split into two categories<\/b><\/p>\n
Technical fouls will now be separated into Category 1 and Category 2<\/b>, based on the severity of the offence.<\/p>\n
Category 1 will cover more serious behaviour, including disrespect towards officials, taunting, offensive language or gestures and faking being fouled, and will count towards an ejection. <\/p>\n
Category 2 will cover less serious or administrative offences, such as delaying the game, and will not count towards an automatic disqualification.<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Brian Goorjian, Coach of the Kings receives a technical foul during the round 20 NBL match between South East Melbourne Phoenix and Sydney Kings at John Cain Arena, on February 08, 2026, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Kelly Defina\/Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nNew ejection rules<\/b><\/p>\n
Players will now be automatically disqualified after receiving two Category 1 technical fouls, two flagrant fouls, or one Category 1 technical and one flagrant foul<\/b>.<\/p>\n
Disruptive fouls and Category 2 technical fouls will not count towards an automatic ejection.<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Wes Iwundu of the Phoenix reacts to Referee Michael Aylen after being fouled out of the game during game three in the NBL Playoff Series between Adelaide 36ers and South East Melbourne Phoenix at Adelaide Entertainment Centre, on March 17, 2026, in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Sarah Reed\/Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nTighter interpretation of shooting fouls<\/b><\/p>\n
FIBA has tightened its definition of when a player is considered to be in the act of shooting, specifically citing the increasing number of players attempting to manipulate situations to draw shooting fouls.<\/p>\n
On jump shots, the shooting motion will begin when the player starts moving their shoulders and the ball upwards towards the basket, while on drives it begins once the ball has been gathered and the player continues their shooting motion towards the basket.<\/p>\n
Passing the ball after contact, or moving it upwards away from the basket in certain situations, will mean the player is no longer considered to be in the act of shooting.<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Nick Rakocevic of the 36ers is fouled by Kendric Davis of the Kings as he drives to the basket during game five of the NBL Grand Final series between Sydney Kings and Adelaide 36ers at Qudos Bank Arena, on April 05, 2026, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor\/Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nMore situations can be reviewed<\/b><\/p>\n
Instant replay will also be expanded, giving officials more opportunities to review potentially game-changing decisions.<\/p>\n
In the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime, officials will be able to review whether the ball had left a thrower\u2019s hands when a defensive foul occurred during a throw-in.<\/p>\n
Officials will also be able to review whether a goaltending or basket interference violation occurred after a foul at any stage of the game, with the new provisions also applying to a Head Coach\u2019s Challenge.<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Referee Ken Widgeon officiates during game two of NBL Playoff Series between Perth Wildcats and Sydney Kings at RAC Arena, on March 14, 2026, in Perth, Australia. (Photo by James Worsfold\/Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhile the changes are not as radical as some of the concepts floated for the NBL Blitz, they will still have an impact on how the game is played and officiated, particularly around shooting fouls and the way technical and unsportsmanlike conduct is classified.<\/p>\n
The NBL will implement the new FIBA rules from October 1, meaning the Tasmania JackJumpers and Melbourne United will be the first teams to experience them when they face each other at MyState Bank Arena that night.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a week where potential NBL rule changes have dominated discussion, with Tasmania JackJumpers head coach Scott Roth going as far as calling some of the proposed ideas a \u2018farce\u2019, a separate set of changes is officially on the way. Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo Sports | […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":260726,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6807],"tags":[156],"class_list":{"0":"post-260725","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leagues-cups","8":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}