What is a TRAVEL in the NBA?

[Jamaaliver]

I know the sidestep and other moves have been adopted into accepted basketball circles the last decade plus.

But it seems like we've allowed so many extra steps added to NBA moves that it's hard to ascertain what's even supposed to be legal.

Not picking on Desmond Bane (one of my favorite NBA Players right now), but this is clearly a travel, right?

Are my middle aged eyes failing me?
He picks up the ball and takes 3+ steps before shooting.

Missed call?
Or legal basketball move?

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[Jamaaliver]

Any other egregious plays that look like obvious violations but somehow are accepted moves in today's NBA?

[JRoy]

Short answer;

Depends who you are.

And that is the problem.

[Rainwater]

It should be a travel but I have seen guys like Harden do it all the time

[Bob Ross]

Short answer;

Depends who you are.

And that is the problem.

That's the answer

[duppyy]

10 steps

[pipfan]

This is what I dislike most about the league right now-the ignoring of obvious travels and carries. It's really getting out of hand

[CIN-C-STAR]

The first step he uses to push off into his 1-2 step back is treated as a gather step, even though yes it technically was after the gather.
In the NBA you get a 3rd step called a gather step, where by rule they don't count the step that occurs with the gather. However, even that lax rule gets enforced laxly, like here, so you can gather and then take 3 steps so long as the first step occurs reasonably soon after the gather.
Bit convoluted and technical, but basically yeah the NBA isn't in the business of enforcing rules anymore, they're in the business of letting guys do whatever it takes to get more buckets so they can push the narrative that the skill level is eons ahead of what it was even 10 years ago.

[miamiheat319]

Doesn't exist anymore

[CIN-C-STAR]

Any other egregious plays that look like obvious violations but somehow are accepted moves in today's NBA?

A defender getting kicked in the nuts is now a foul on the defender.
I'd say that's pretty egregious
You can go back to Draymond repeatedly kicking Steven Adams in the nuts in the playoffs and calling it his "natural shooting motion," or Jimmy Buckets kicking Aaron Gordon in the nuts last Finals and getting three FTs for it.

[Kaykoose]

Travel. He takes 3 and a half (?) steps after he picks up the ball. NBA needs to stop this, it's adding to the inflation of stats we are seeing today.

[Ckay]

We can agree this is 100% a travel.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

[Chuck Everett]

Nothing, which is why you have to watch FIBA to know how good these guys actually are.

[SNPA]

We can agree this is 100% a travel.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

The Brewer one always gets me. Dude is still over the center court logo when the ball touches the floor last.

It’s a minimum of five steps.

[DaPessimist]

The Harden step back.



And yes, it's an obvious travel.

[Harcore Fenton Mun]

[lambchop]

Nothing, which is why you have to watch FIBA to know how good these guys actually are.

The gather steps exists in FIBA too. The real difference is when it comes to carrying, not traveling.

[theforumblue]

Gather, one, two shot. Legal. Way they call travel has changed. Get over it already.

[mediocrityrules]

The step-back is one play that has always confused me in regards to a travel. It always looks like an extra step, but because the gather step can be fairly obscured it makes it hard to gauge (well, some more than others).

[Hangtime84]

Gather, one, two shot. Legal. Way they call travel has changed. Get over it already.

Yup gather 1 2 can be any direction.