Carrying is a violation in the game of
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
. It occurs when the
dribbling
In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score.
A ...
player continues to dribble after allowing the ball to come to rest in one or both hands and/or places their hand underneath the
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
. Carrying is like a
double dribble
In basketball, an illegal dribble (colloquially called a double dribble or dribbling violation) occurs when a player ends their dribble by catching or causing the ball to come to rest in one or both hands and then dribbles it again with one hand ...
, because the player momentarily stops dribbling, then resumes dribbling. If the player is in motion while carrying the ball, then it is similar to
traveling
Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel can ...
(3+ steps).
A type of carrying, known
colloquially
Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom normally employed in conversa ...
as palming, involves holding the ball in one hand in a grip without allowing it to fall naturally.
Most basketball players slide their hand to one side of the ball when dribbling to better control the ball, directing it from left to right and vice versa. So long as the ball does not come to rest, not only is this legal, but it also allows more control and easier ball-handling. The problem arises when the ball-handler slides their hand too far down the side of the ball and has their hand below it. A carrying violation is called once the player's hand is below the ball's plane of 90° and the required up and down motion of the ball significantly stops.
Basketball penalties
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