When Phoenix's Deandre Ayton reached over the rim to dunk Jae Crowder's pass for what became the winning points of the Suns' 104-103 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, several players immediately argued that the play was illegal.
Perhaps it was wishful thinking on their part.
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Or, perhaps more likely, they did not fully understand the rule.
In almost any other situation, what Ayton did would have been a violation — offensive basket interference — and the shot shouldn't have counted. But in this situation, what he did was perfectly legal.
WHY DID IT COUNT?
NBA Rule 11, Section I, Subsection f gives part of the answer.
That rule states that a player shall not “touch any ball from within the playing area that is on its downward flight with an opportunity to score. This is considered to be a ‘field goal attempt’ or trying for a goal.”
Crowder's pass — an extremely difficult one — was not a field goal attempt. Because it was an inbounds pass, it would not have counted as a field goal even if it went through the basket untouched by a teammate. The goaltending rule doesn't apply for the same reason.
CAN THIS HAPPEN DURING LIVE PLAY?
No. Such a play only works with the clock not running, or in NBA parlance, when the ball isn't “live."
During a live-ball situation as play is happening, if Crowder wanted to throw an alley-oop pass to Ayton and not be part of a violation he would have to ensure that the ball isn't what's called “inside the cylinder" — basically, an imaginary ring extending up from the surface of the rim.
But the clock was not running. This was not a live ball.
From the NBA case book, addressing such a situation: “Goaltending or basket interference has not occurred. For either of these violations to occur, a ball which is alive must enter the cylinder area after having been legally touched on the playing court. All players must consider this type of play as an ordinary throw-in and anyone may attempt to gain possession of the ball without penalty.”
HAS THIS HAPPENED BEFORE?
Yes, and perhaps most notably, in Phoenix.
During a game on Dec. 26, 2017 between the Suns and Memphis Grizzlies — tied with 0.6 seconds remaining — then-Suns coach Jay Triano called for a play where Phoenix's Dragan Bender would throw an inbounds pass over the rim and set up Tyson Chandler for a dunk.
Triano had asked the NBA long beforehand if such a scenario would be legal. The NBA confirmed that it would be, and Triano kept the idea stashed in his mind for such a moment. Bender's pass was precise, Chandler got the dunk down and the Suns won 99-97.
“It’s a rule a lot of people don’t know," Triano said that night. “You cannot goaltend a ball that isn’t going to count.”
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