Basketball fouls and free throws: personal, technical, flagrant and the bonus

A personal foul is illegal contact — reaching, hacking, bodying a player. If it happens to a shooter, they get free throws: two for a foul on a two-point attempt, three from beyond the arc, and one extra “and-one” if a foul is committed but the shot still goes in. Foul a non-shooter and it is usually just the ball out of bounds — until the bonus.

Teams accumulate fouls each period. Once a team commits enough team fouls in a period (five in the NBA), the opponent enters the bonus, or “penalty”: from then on, even non-shooting fouls award free throws. The bonus is why late-period fouls become so costly and why trailing teams deliberately foul at the end.

A technical foul is for conduct rather than contact — arguing, taunting, delay, illegal defence — and gives the other team a free throw (and possession, depending on the situation). A flagrant foul is for unnecessary or excessive contact: flagrant 1 gives two free throws and the ball; flagrant 2 does the same and ejects the player.

A player who reaches the limit is disqualified — six personal fouls in the NBA, five in FIBA and college. This is why star players in foul trouble get benched to protect them, and why coaches manage fouls like a resource across a game. Two technicals also mean an automatic ejection.