Basketball Statistics Blog

Statistician's Digest: No Double Dribble until a Set is Ended

"...A player has possession of the ball with both hands:
- he stoops down and puts the ball on the floor with both hands still on the ball.
- he stands up again with the ball still in his hands and
stoops down again and put the ball back on the floor with his both
hands still on the ball, is this a double dribble call?
What kind of basketball statistics rule: unforced turnover? ...

There are a couple of meanings in this situation: the first depends on whether or not the player started to dribble. The described action, if it is his first movement with the ball would not be a double dribble. The motive for this ratification is because a dribble is done when "a player in ball control, who throws or taps the ball into the air or to the floor". At no moment of the described action the player "throws or taps the ball into the air or to the floor". As a result of it is that the player never had his first dribble, so having a second would be impossible.

In the action described above the player would still be breaking the rules, and this violation would be "Traveling". This would be the second meaning coming from the application of the double dribble rule, that would be if the described action was made with only one hand.

eBA Statistical Registration: Unforced Turnover.

Although in the case in which a player get a pass from another player or catches a rebound, he crouch through the floor, put the ball on it with his both hands still on the ball, then stand up and crouches again putting back the ball on the floor again with his both hands still on the ball while its on the floor, in order to protect the ball from his opponent: this is not double dribble because the ball never left the player's hands. It's impossible to get a double dribble call until one set of dribbling was ended.

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