If you’ve ever been to a basketball game before, chances are you’ve noticed the word “Bonus” on the scoreboard along with arrows pointing in each direction.
But what exactly this word means on the court can be kind of confusing, because it occurs at different times in almost each level of basketball.
This article will take a look at what “Bonus” means in basketball, when it happens at the different levels of the sport, and how you can best utilize it on both ends of the court.
What Does Bonus Mean in Basketball?
The bonus occurs when a team has committed too many team fouls.
Once this happens, every subsequent defensive foul will put the other team in the penalty and at the line to shoot free throws, no matter if they were in the act of shooting or not.
This bonus will continue until the end of the period. At that point, the team fouls will be reset to zero and begin accumulating again.
You will often hear announcers say a team has x number of “fouls to give” before putting their opponent in the bonus, meaning they can foul that many times before putting them at the line on a common foul.
It is important to note that bonus free throws are not shot if there is a player-control foul. Instead, the team will just gain possession of the ball.
When Does the Bonus Occur?
As was stated earlier, the bonus occurs at a different number of fouls for almost each different level of basketball and can even result in a different number of free throws.
Men's College Basketball:
For men’s college basketball, a team enters the bonus when their opponent has committed their 7th foul of the half. At this point, they shoot a 1-and-1, meaning if they make the first free throw they are awarded a second one.
Then once the opponent commits their 10th team foul of the half, it becomes the double bonus and the team gets to shoot 2 free throws on each foul regardless if the first one goes in or not.
Women's College Basketball and High School:
In the women’s college game as well as high school, the game is broken into quarters so they have a slightly different approach to the bonus rule.
At these levels, a team enters the bonus on the 5th team foul by their opponents each quarter. And instead of a 1-and-1, they are granted 2 free throws immediately.
Professional Basketball:
Professional basketball has the same rules, granting teams the bonus once the other team has accumulated 5 team fouls. And again, they automatically get 2 free throws once the other team reaches this threshold.
However, they do have a slightly different rule that applies near the end of quarters to limit the need for a trailing team to constantly foul to put the other team in the bonus.
Once the clock reaches 2:00 left in any of the quarters, a team automatically enters the bonus on the 2nd foul within this time period, whether they have reached 5 team fouls for the whole quarter or not.
How to Use the Bonus to Your Advantage
As with every basketball rule, there are ways to best utilize the bonus within your offensive strategy.
1. Attack the Basket
The best way to draw fouls against your opponent is by aggressively driving the basketball to the rim and not just settling for jump shots.
If you want to consistently get your team into the bonus, then your offense must include plenty of opportunities for your players to attack the basket off the dribble and look to draw contact on their way to the rim.
And once your team has reached the bonus, make sure to run set plays with some dribble drives to attempt to draw some contact and get to the line.
One of the worst things you can do is get into the bonus and then never shoot a free throw because your team stops attacking the basket.
2. Keep the Ball With Your Best Shooters
To fully take advantage of being in the bonus, it’s important that your best foul shooters get to take as many of the free throws as they can.
So once your team is in the bonus, try to run offense through your best foul shooters so that they either get an open look or the chance to go to the line if they’re fouled.
This is especially true late in a game while nursing a lead. Make sure your best players understand the importance of keeping possession of the ball as much as possible. It may even be wise to sub out poor foul shooters in an offense-for-defense approach.
3. Practice Free Throws
Getting to the foul line in the bonus is the first step.
However, making the majority of these free throws should be the goal.
As much as you might try to do the strategy above, there are still going to be times when your lesser foul shooters go to the line.
To prepare them and your entire team to take advantage of the bonus situation, make sure to practice free throws.
But instead of simply shooting them, make sure to have your players shoot them when they are fatigued and also when there is a consequence to make it as close to a game-like experience as you can.
Preventing Your Opponent From Using the Bonus
On the flip side, putting your opponent in the bonus can be a recipe for disaster as you give them chances to score easy points. Here are some ways you can attempt to keep your team from getting burned by the bonus on the defensive end.
1. Practice How NOT to Foul
Just as we teach our defenders how to close out or how to slide their feet, we also need to teach and stress to them how not to foul as they’re guarding.
A great way to do this is to have them hold something in their hands (towel, pool noodle, etc.) as they are closing out and guarding the ball.
This will help them work on keeping their hands off a driving player and instead work on stopping the ball with their chest, which is much less likely to be called than putting two hands on the offensive player.
2. Play a Zone Defense
As was said earlier, one of the best ways to not rack up fouls is to force the other team to stay outside and settle for jump shots.
And one of the best ways to achieve this is by playing a zone defense.
(Don't do this if you're coaching youth basketball)
Most zone attacks are much more stationary and reliant on outside shooting than man offense attacks.
So playing a zone will oftentimes lead to fewer fouls being committed by your team, meaning a much lower chance that your opponent gets put into the bonus.
3. Eliminate Silly Fouls
Having your team understand the bonus and the consequences for fouling after this point will hopefully prevent them from making poor decisions that put the opponent at the line unnecessarily.
Silly fouls like going for a steal or a rebound they have little chance of getting and creating contact in the process can put the other team at the line, sometimes without ever even getting the ball into the front court.
So if your players can understand that taking a smarter and more conservative approach once they’re in the penalty, it will help keep the other team from scoring easy points at the line.
Conclusion:
The bonus can be a great way for your team to score some easy points if you know how to get to the line and can make some free throws.
But it can also be an unfortunate way to lose a game if your opponent is the one scoring at the line because of too many unnecessary fouls.
Make sure your players know how the bonus works so you can use it to your advantage in your next basketball game.