NBA Announces Rule Change to Expand Replay on Out of Bounds Calls for 2024-25 Season

Mike Chiari@@mikechiariFeatured Columnist IVSeptember 10, 2024

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The NBA announced Tuesday that it is expanding instant replay rules for the 2024-25 season as they relate to out-of-bounds calls, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.

Per Bontemps, the new rules will allow for officials to review whether a foul should have been called on an out-of-bounds play. That means that even if a replay shows the ball going off a certain team’s player and out of bounds, the other team won’t gain possession if it is determined they committed a foul on the play.

Bontemps added that the rule changed was approved by the NBA Board of Governors on Tuesday, and commissioner Adam Silver will further explain the changes later in the day following the meetings.

In the official press release from the NBA regarding the out-of-bounds review rule changes, the league stated that a foul must be “proximate to the violation” to be called via replay.

The ability to call a foul upon review will depend on whether the players involved in the foul are the same as the ones involved in the out-of-bounds call, the distance between the foul and the out-of-bounds call and time between the foul and the out-of-bounds violation.

Since 2002, the NBA has used instant replay to review and potentially change calls on certain types of plays.

Beginning in 2019, coaches were given the ability to challenge calls, and the system was fine-tuned in the years that followed.

As of last season, coaches would begin the game with one challenge and could earn a second if their first was successful. The challenges were limited to out-of-bounds calls, a foul called against the coach’s own team and goaltending or basket interference.

Since coaches cannot challenge whether a foul should have been called against the opposition, it made it more difficult for officials to make the right call when reviewing out-of-bounds plays.

Now, since referees can take fouls into account on those plays, there should be a greater chance of getting those calls right close to 100 percent of the time upon review.