Defensive three - second violation - Wikipedia Defensive three - second violation A defensive three - second violation, also known as illegal defense, is a basketball rules infraction in the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) introduced in the 2001 -- 2002 season. It is assessed when a member of the defending team spends more than three seconds in the free throw lane ( also known as the 16 - foot lane, or colloquially as `` in the paint '' ) while not actively guarding an opponent. To be considered actively guarding, a defender must be within arm 's length of an opponent and in a guarding position. A three - second count is suspended if : a player is in the act of shooting there is a loss of team control the defender is actively guarding an opponent the defender clears the painted area it is imminent the defender will become legal In addition, a player guarding an opponent with the ball may be in the paint without actively guarding the opponent. The team committing a defensive three - second violation is assessed a team technical foul. The offense receives one free throw and retains possession of the ball. Prior to the 2001 -- 2002 NBA season, any form of zone defense was considered an illegal defense violation and resulted in a warning on the first violation and then a technical foul for any subsequent violations. However, the defensive three - second violation makes it difficult for NBA defenses to play zone, since zone defenses usually position a player in the middle of the key to stop penetration. The Philippine Basketball Association used to follow the illegal defense rule until the 2003 PBA season when it was abolished. The high school game does not use this rule, nor does European basketball. The WNBA started using it in 2013. References Jump up ^ NBA Official Rules ( 2009 - 2010 ) Rule 10, Section VII, B. Retrieved July 25, 2010 Jump up ^ NBA Official Rules ( 2009 - 2010 ) Rule 10, Section VII, D. Retrieved July 25, 2010 Jump up ^ NBA Official Rules ( 2009 - 2010 ) Rule 10, Section VII, E. Retrieved July 25, 2010 Jump up ^ NBA Official Rules ( 2009 - 2010 ) Rule 10, Section VII, Penalty. Retrieved July 25, 2010 Jump up ^ Blinebury, Fran ( June 8, 2006 ). `` Rule changes have NBA back in the fast lane ''. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 26, 2010. Jump up ^ http://www.sportingcharts.com/dictionary/nba/defensive-three-second-violation.aspx Jump up ^ Cruz, Agnes ( January 24, 2003 ). `` PBA get fresh look this season ''. Arab News. Retrieved January 13, 2014. Jump up ^ `` WNBA Announces Rules Changes for 2013 Season ''. WNBA. Retrieved Dec 16, 2012. 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 This basketball - related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Defensive_three-second_violation&oldid=803130800 '' Categories : Basketball penalties Basketball stubs Hidden categories : Wikipedia articles needing clarification from November 2015 All stub articles Talk About Wikipedia Français Edit links This page was last edited on 30 September 2017, at 17 : 04. About Wikipedia

Question: when was the defensive 3 second rule implemented
Answer: in the 2001–2002 season; in the 2001–2002 season; 2001–2002 season; 2001–2002 season; the 2001–2002 season