This is a very creative, very LEGAL play, at every level of 🏀, but will confuse those who don’t know the rules. Jokic ends his dribble (gathers the ball) w/ both feet off the floor, & lands simultaneously on both feet. By rule, he can pivot with either foot from this position. He pivots on his R by stepping w/ his L foot, legally lifts his PF (R foot), & releases the shot before his PF returns to the floor. 100% Legal at all levels.

Game of inches, and for Refs… a game of angles. This play is a perfect example: Seeing the original tv broadcast camera angle, many swore Butler stepped OoB, but baseline angle tells a different story. Kudos to Bert Smith (ref on baseline) for his correct No-Call on this play.

Defender can’t establish/maintain Legal Guarding Position if either foot is Out of Bounds. Correct Call. Announcers don’t know why this was a Blocking Foul, despite L pointing to defender & saying “You’re OoB”. Maybe they’ll stumble across NCAAM Rule 4-15.4.a & 6.b at some point.

Correct Call, but L leaves spot too early to report foul. Can’t do that w/ problem players like him, who have reputation for taunting. Player looks over, sees ref isn’t looking, so he intentionally steps over opponent/on his arm. Should be Flagrant Tech/DQ, but refs don’t see it.

Ok 🏀 fans. The polls for this play have now closed so let’s see how we did w/ our rulings. In this tweet thread, I’ll provide poll results, correct rulings, & a supporting case play for each rule set, applicable to this play. (🔴NBA, 🟡FIBA, 🔵NCCAM, 🟣NCCAW, & 🟢NFHS)

Eric Lewis is one of the @OfficialNBARefs greats!!! Big shout out to him & all of the other NBA Refs who made sacrifices, in order for the Bubble to be a success! What a great moment seeing him back with his loved ones! – at Lakeland, FL