10 significant rule differences between NBA and Olympics basketball and it's ramifications

#8 Fouls

Unless they’re playing leap frog, that’s a foul

Basketball is not just about playing in the moment and giving every possession, everything you have. You have to exercise prudence and caution in different game situations. While players can be careful about accumulating personal fouls, the team as a whole has to bear the team foul situation in mind.

In the NBA, teams go into the penalty on the sixth foul. As in, if a team commits five fouls in a quarter, then the opponent will get two free throws on the next foul. However, in international play, the fourth foul puts a team in the penalty and the fifth foul in the quarter results in two free throws.

Another caveat in international play, the second foul in the last two minutes of a quarter will also put a team in the penalty. This offseason, the NBA adopted that rule as well. It used to be applicable only in the fourth quarter till recently.

In the NBA, two technical fouls result in a player being thrown out of the game. Same goes for international play, but here the technical fouls also count towards a player's foul total. So a player can be expelled with four personal fouls and one technical foul.

In the NBA, offensive fouls don't count towards team fouls. That's not the case in international play.

Ramifications:

“We’re constantly yelling out team fouls. That’s because the fifth foul is two free throws,” said coach Krzyzewski after the second exhibition win over China. “You can have guys out there not in foul trouble, but we’re in the bonus.”

Teams will need to keep an eye on the total fouls to avoid being in the penalty.