4-44 Article 3

[kblehman]

I'm a rookie, having begun my officiating career just a couple years ago, so I apologize if this has been rehashed ad nauseum.

I don't understand why the description in Section 4-44, Article 3 is not traveling. The way I read this is that if a player establishes a pivot foot, he can step onto his other foot as long as he's doing so to either shoot or pass.

To me this seems like the old Kevin McHale move, where the shooter is essentially gaining another step (to shoot) after establishing his other foot as the pivot. (Chauncey Billups does it all the time.)

I can see that it wouldn't be a travel if he were to jump off of both feet and shoot before landing again. But establishing his left foot as the pivot and then walking onto his right to squeeze off a shot sure seems like traveling to me. I.e., he's changing pivot feet without a dribble.

OTOH, if he hasn't used his dribble and does the same thing before putting the ball down to begin dribbling, it IS a travel.

It seems inconsistent to me. Can someone explain the reasoning here?


The same rule states that it IS a travel if