Athletes in many other sports don’t complete a full game, and neither do basketball players. When one of them is accidentally injured or exhausted, a substitute player on the bench will come on the field to take his place. This post tells you how substitutions work in basketball and the basketball substitution rules.

What Is Substitution in Basketball?

There are five players in an NBA basketball team. A substitution or rotation in basketball is a strategy decided by coaches to replace a player during a dead ball by players awaiting on the bench. The reason differs from game to game, but substitution is mainly used to give the player on the court a rest. When this is done, the coach tells the player on the bench he is going in, and the person supposed to be switched out.

There is no limit to the number of substitutions a team can make during a game. Usually, the more intense the games are, the more substitutions are needed.

Why Are Substitutions Used?

There are many reasons a coach may substitute a player during a game. If the player on the court gets tired and the coach see him sucking in air, he may pull him out for a rest. For example, superstars in a team will be prone to sit now and then because they often play close to the entire game.

Then, another major reason for substitutions are fouls. In basketball games, each player only has five (high school or NCAA) or six times (NBA) to foul. A player is disqualified from the game if he hits the limit of personal foul. However, no team will be reduced to less than five players. According to NBA’s rule, if a player in the game receives his last personal foul and all other substitutes are disqualified, he shall remain in the game and shall be charged with a personal and team foul.

Another reason for substitutions may be due to the continuous bad plays or shootings of players. This happens quite often in high school basketball contests.

Also, a player may exit a game because of an injury, but that rarely happens.

Even so, if someone gets injured or doesn’t feel completely confident, he will also signal to the coach to have a rest on the bench.

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When Can You Substitute a Player?

Come back to substitutions. Substitutions cannot happen at any time. Generally, they happen during a dead ball when game stops completely. A coach will decide whom to substitute and the player on the bench will enter the court instead. Meanwhile, a dead ball happens when there are fouls, a player getting hurt, the ball going out of bounds, or a timeout.

How Players Substitute In?

When players are selected by the coach to enter the game, they must first check in at the scorer’s table, which is located in between the benches in midfield. Once they check in on the scorer’s table, they must wait until a dead ball occurs to enter the game.

Players entering the game must report who they are replacing. When a substitution is made, the whistle is blown shortly and the replaced players return to the bench while the substitute enters the game.

FAQ

Q1: How many substitutions can be made in a basketball game?
A: There are not any substitution limits in a basketball game. You can substitute as many players as you need or as few as you like.

Q2: How many players must be on the court?
A: Each team must have five players in a basketball game. So, there should be ten players on the court. Even if someone exits the game, a substitute will replace him. Unless all the substitutes are fouled or injured and someone gets injured on the court, a team will have less than five players. But it rarely happens.

Q3: Who is the sixth player in a basketball team?
A: The term “sixth player” refers to the first player to be substituted from the court, making them the sixth player on the team. Every team may have a typical substitute, who is extremely important when revitalizing a team and scoring off the bench.

Final Thoughts

In today’s NBA games, substitution is an important strategy. Although some players never leave the team, even the biggest players need to get out of the game now and then to have a rest. Rest is a key factor to win the game, especially in the second half of the season. Whether you are just watching the game from the spectator seats or in front of the screen or need to fight for your team, understanding how the sub works gives you a better master of the game.