Carrying (basketball)

Definition:

Carrying Violation (NBA).

1. A player who is dribbling may not put any part of his hand under the ball and (1) carry it from one point to another or (2) bring it to a pause and then continue to dribble again.

The NBA outlines exactly what constitutes a carrying violation during a game, but over the years, NBA fans have seen different installments of this rule, and the frequency of this violation being called.

Background:

Current NBA Point Guard Chris Paul showing how to keep your hand on top of the ball while dribbling.

Example of retired NBA Shooting Guard Ray Allen breaking the NBA's carrying rule.

History of the Rule: James Naismith, creator and founder of the game we know of today as basketball, actually indirectly created the original carrying violation. Naismith implemented twelve foundational rules of basketball with one being, " A player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, allowance to me made for man who catches the ball when running, if he tries to stop." When basketball was first being played, dribbling the ball was not a very popular method of moving the ball around the court, instead the players would preform subsequent short passes between teammates, to advance the ball. For the next fifty years, the carrying violation in the NBA didn't see much discussion, as fans saw the rule being enforced at all times when a player puts their hand under the ball, and continues another dribble.

Rasheed Wallace seen arguing with a referee regarding a carrying violation.

The 80s and 90s: It wasn't until the early 80s and throughout the 90s where the carrying rule was again put under the spotlight. Argued as the greatest player to ever play in the NBA, Michael Jordan, many fans started to notice that Jordan would often put his hand under the ball and continue dribbling, otherwise known as carrying, without consequence from the officiating team. Fans speculated even further and began assuming that due to the star-power and celebrity status Jordan held, he was the benefactor of "superstar calls". Superstar calls are calls only the biggest name players get, many believing that this is the NBA's way of preserving their status among pop culture. Superstar calls come in all forms, whether its players being allowed to carry the ball more frequently without repercussion, or receiving more fouls called in favor of the superstar player. While the carrying violation problem wasn't necessarily a big issue for fans, as we move towards the turn of the 2020s, the NBA knew they had to do something.

Today's NBA:

Current State of the NBA and Carrying: During the 2022 NBA season, the NBA issued a team-wide memo stating that the league will be cracking down on the carrying violation, thus calling the violation more often throughout games. The night before the memo was sent out, a game between the Miami Heat and the Golden State featured a game with no less than four carrying violations being called. This started a new era in the NBA in terms of star players being no longer able to get away with more contact towards other players, or getting away with carrying. But as we're almost three years removed, has the league actually made a change in the way they call carrying? As of November of the current 2023-2024 NBA season, 57 carries were called during that month alone, only ten less violations that were called in the entirety of the 2022-2023 NBA season. Just by watching games of the current season, it's quite obvious the NBA has taken the new rules seriously and are making the effort to change the league for the better.

Carrying is a rule violation in the game of basketball. It occurs when a player places a hand underneath the basketball while dribbling, pauses the dribble, and then resumes the dribble.