Please help clarify - 'half step' rule

[Scrapper1]

Originally Posted by scw2

hopefully someone can clarify what is the 'legal' European half-step rule. I have been unable to find a clear rule,

Hi scw. Welcome to the forum.

The reason that you haven't been able to find a clear rule on a "half-step" is that there is no such rule. Traveling violations are not based on "two steps" or "a step and a half", as so many fans believe.

Traveling occurs (with a couple exceptions) when a player's pivot foot is raised from the floor and then returned to the floor without releasing the ball.

That's it. There's no magic number of steps or anything like that. If I'm holding the ball and I lift my pivot foot, then I must shoot or pass the ball (or be granted time-out) before that pivot foot returns to the floor.

So when you're watching those "half-step" moves, ignore the steps and find the pivot foot. Once you find the pivot foot, it's very easy to determine if a move is legal or not.

If you need to know how to identify the pivot foot, just ask.