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The WNBA and NBA have different sets of rules and regulations in various aspects. However, one common rule they have is the number of fouls a player can commit in a game. Like the NBA, a player will get fouled out after committing six personal fouls in a women's league game.
The WNBA implemented new changes to some of the fouls that could increase the rate of fouls. The league has introduced the coach's review this year. Every team will have one challenge in a game. A coach's review offers the chance to challenge a call, which referees can potentially overturn. The team will lose the challenge regardless of the outcome.
Another change could reduce the number of fouls this season: the transition take call. Teams committing the foul will lose possession, while the team that has drawn the foul will get one free throw attempt. Any player on the floor from the opposing team can take the shot from the charity stripe.
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The new penalties of a free throw attempt and loss of possession limit players from committing a personal foul to stop the team on a break from getting an easy bucket.
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Officials don't call fouls that easily in the WNBA
One of the key differences between the NBA and WNBA is how games are called. NBA games generally have a lot of calls, while the women's league per-season averages of personal calls have dropped over the years. This season it is at 18.7 so far.
Since 2019, there have been under 17.9 fouls per game called in the women's league. 18.7 this year is the highest since 2017 when there were 18.9 calls per game. The first 10 years of the league saw over 18.5 fouls per game being called eight times and over 20.0 per contest four times.
The NBA, meanwhile, averaged 20.0 fouls per game this season. Multiple factors contribute to the way a game gets called in both leagues. The NBA is longer, with 48 minutes of game time, split into four quarters of 12 minutes each. The women's league, meanwhile, has four quarters of 10 minutes each and 20 minutes.
Physicality and foul-baiting also play a role sometimes. The foul calls in the NBA become more inconsistent due to that reason, compared to the WNBA.
