Bonus ( basketball ) - wikipedia Bonus ( basketball ) Free throws are awarded to the opposing team when a team enters the penalty situation. In the sport of basketball, the bonus situation ( also called the penalty situation ) occurs when one team accumulates a requisite number of fouls, which number varies depending on the level of play. When one team has committed the requisite number of fouls, each subsequent foul results in the opposing team 's taking free throws regardless of the type of foul committed ( i.e., whether the foul was a shooting foul ). Teams under the limit are commonly referred to as having fouls to give, and thus they can try to disrupt their opponents without being penalized free throws. These fouls reset every quarter or half depending on the rules in use ( i.e. FIBA, NBA, NCAA, etc. ). Contents 1 FIBA 1.1 FIBA 3x3 2 NBA and WNBA 2.1 Team Foul Penalty 2.2 Player Foul Penalty 3 NCAA 4 References FIBA Under FIBA rules, used for all competitions involving international teams and most leagues outside the U.S., the penalty is triggered when a team commits more than four fouls in a quarter ; the fifth and subsequent team fouls will incur penalty free throws. All subsequent non-shooting defensive fouls committed by that team in the same quarter concede two free throws. All fouls committed by players count towards the team foul count. Only defensive fouls are awarded free throws. Team fouls accrue from the fourth period on, as all overtimes are extensions of it for the purpose of team foul accumulation. FIBA 3x3 The 3 - man game, known as FIBA 3x3, has a slightly different penalty rule. The penalty is triggered when a team commits more than six fouls in a game. Each penalty situation involved two penalty free throws, and the tenth and subsequent fouls will also include possession of the ball. NBA and WNBA Team foul penalty In the National Basketball Association and Women 's National Basketball Association, bonus rules in a quarter apply starting with the fifth team foul. The ( W ) NBA rules on the team foul penalty are similar to the FIBA version, with three major differences : Only defensive and loose - ball fouls count towards a team 's limit for the team foul penalty. Offensive fouls do not count towards the team foul penalty. The team foul penalty applies in a period after a team commits one foul in the final two minutes if the team had not reached the penalty phase in the first ten ( NBA ) or eight ( WNBA ) minutes of that period. In other words, within any period free throws are awarded starting from the fifth foul OR from the second foul in the last two minutes of the period, whichever comes earlier. If a game enters overtime, the foul counts are reset to 0, and are similarly reset before each subsequent overtime period. The penalty phase starts with the fourth foul in each overtime period rather than five for regulation periods, since overtime periods are much shorter than regular game periods ( 5 minutes vs. 10 / 12 in regulation play ). As in regulation play, two free throws are awarded for non-shooting defensive fouls during the bonus period, and one foul in the final two minutes automatically puts the team in the team foul penalty. Player foul penalty A player who commits his / her sixth ( and subsequent ) personal foul and must remain in the game because the team has no eligible players remaining, or a player who was the last player to commit six fouls, and with no eligible players following an injury or ejection, is called back to the game, is charged with a non-unsportsmanlike conduct technical foul, with the penalty of a single free throw, regardless of offensive or defensive foul. The player can not be ejected from the game for a technical foul caused by such. This type of technical foul serves in effect as a `` player foul penalty '' of a bonus free throw, similar to the team foul penalty. However, this bonus free throw is awarded regardless of the foul being an offensive or defensive foul. NCAA The bonus situation is also used in American men 's college basketball, but the NCAA rules are much different from the bonus rules of the NBA. The basic bonus rules remain the same, but the limit for team fouls is six per half. Upon committing the seventh foul of the half, a team is penalized and the opposing team is awarded at least one free throw for any defensive or loose - ball foul, no matter if the foul was shooting or non-shooting ( offensive fouls are never awarded free throws in the NCAA ). In the case of a non-shooting foul, the opposing player must make the first free throw in order to be awarded a second free throw. This is commonly referred to as `` one - and - one ''. ( A shooting foul is not subject to this requirement ; the player will get all free throw attempts allowed by the rules regardless of the result of the preceding shot. ) Beginning with the tenth foul of a half, the fouled team is awarded two free throws on non-shooting fouls regardless of whether or not the first shot is made ( often referred to as the `` double bonus '' ). For purposes of bonus, team fouls accrue from the second half on, as all overtimes are extensions of it. Women 's college basketball followed men 's bonus rules until the 2015 -- 16 season, when it adopted FIBA bonus rules : four fouls per period ; two free throws on every team foul over four ; team fouls accrue from the fourth period on, as all overtimes are extensions of it. The NCAA regularly uses its second - tier tournament for Division I teams, the National Invitation Tournament, as a testing ground for experimental rules, and the bonus situation is no exception. In both the 2017 and 2018 editions, the NCAA has done the following with regard to the bonus : In 2017, both team foul counts were reset to zero at the 10 - minute mark of each half ( technically 9 : 59 ). In 2018, games were played in quarters, matching current practice in NCAA women 's basketball, instead of the halves used in the current NCAA men 's rules. In both tournaments, the team foul limit was four per 10 - minute block ( either the effective quarter in 2017 or the actual quarter in 2018 ), identical to the NCAA women 's limit for each quarter. Upon the fifth team foul in a 10 - minute block, two shots were awarded for all non-shooting defensive or loose - ball fouls. This is also identical to the current NCAA women 's rule. In 2017, each overtime period was considered a separate period for accumulation of team fouls, as in the NBA and WNBA. The fourth team foul in an overtime period triggered the so - called `` double bonus ''. Unlike NBA / WNBA rules, there is no separate team foul count for the final minute ( s ) of an overtime period ( or a 10 - minute block or quarter during regulation ). This last change was not used in the 2018 NIT. The rules of the National Federation of State High School Associations ( NFHS ), which govern high school basketball in the United States, follow NCAA men 's rules on this point for both boys ' and girls ' play. Even though the NFHS rules divide the game into quarters, the team foul count resets only at halftime. References Jump up ^ `` Basketball U : On The Penalty ''. National Basketball Association. September 18, 2008. Retrieved 2009 - 05 - 02. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) ^ Jump up to : `` Rule No. 12 : Fouls and Penalties ''. National Basketball Association. January 31, 2001. Retrieved 2009 - 05 - 02. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2011 - 10 - 27. Retrieved 2011 - 10 - 28. Jump up ^ `` 2009 NCAA Men 's and Women 's Basketball Rules '' ( PDF ). NCAA. 2008. p. 124. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on February 6, 2009. Retrieved May 2, 2009. Each common foul committed by the defensive team, beginning with a team 's seventh foul during the half, provided that the first attempt is successful Jump up ^ `` NCAA panel approves women 's basketball rule changes ''. ESPN.com. Associated Press. June 8, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2015. Jump up ^ Brown, C.L. ( February 13, 2017 ). `` NIT to experiment with resetting fouls every 10 minutes ''. ESPN.com. Retrieved February 13, 2017. Jump up ^ Bonagura, Kyle ( February 27, 2018 ). `` NIT to experiment with new rules this season ''. ESPN.com. Retrieved February 28, 2018. Basketball ( outline ) General topics History of basketball James Naismith Variations of basketball Leagues Statistics Glossary of terms Index of articles Rules Bonus Jump ball Officials Turnover Violation 3 seconds Offense Defense 5 seconds Basket interference Carrying Double dribble Goaltending Shot clock Traveling Foul Flagrant Personal Technical Game play Air ball Alley - oop Assist Backboard shattering Ball hog Block Buzzer beater Cherry picking Dribble Crossover Dunk Euro step Fadeaway Fast break Fly Flop Jump shot Layup Finger roll Field goal Four - point play Free throw Hook shot Moves Pick and roll Positions Posterized Playbook Rebound Point Screen Back screen Slashing Steal Three - pointer Three - point play Uncontested shot Strategy General Sixth man Offense Continuity offense Flex Shuffle UCLA High Post Wheel Dribble drive motion Four corners Motion Princeton Run and gun Grinnell System Nellie Ball Small ball Triangle Defense 1 - 2 - 1 - 1 1 -- 3 -- 1 2 -- 3 zone Amoeba Box - and - one Double team Full - court press Hack - a-Shaq Jordan Rules Line Man - to - man Match - up zone Triangle - and - two Zone Equipment Backboard Ball Breakaway rim Court Half court Key Net Possession arrow Whistle Clothing Basketball sleeve Finger sleeve Air Jordan Chuck Taylor All - Stars Miscellaneous 100 - point scorers 50 -- 40 -- 90 club AAU All - Americans AAU champions Mikan Drill Player tracking Shootaround Tip drill Winning streaks Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bonus_(basketball)&oldid=833522608 '' Categories : Rules of basketball Talk Contents About Wikipedia Ελληνικά Italiano Polski Edit links This page was last edited on 1 April 2018, at 02 : 49. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what does the word bonus mean in basketball
Answer: occurs when one team accumulates a requisite number of fouls, which number varies depending on the level of play