Quote:
Originally Posted by JRutledge
(Post 635659)
Trent Tucker with the Knicks against the Bulls.
|
The Trent Tucker Rule is an NBA rule that disallows any regular shot to be taken on the court if the ball is put into play with less than three-tenths of a second left on the game clock. The rule was passed after the 1989-90 season and named after New York Knicks player Trent Tucker.
The Official Rules of the National Basketball Association state
"NO LESS THAN :00.3 must expire on the game clock when a player secures possession of an inbounds pass and then attempts a field goal. If less than :00.3 expires in such a situation, the timer will be instructed to deduct AT LEAST :00.3 from the game clock. If less than :00.3 remain on the game clock when this situation occurs, the period is over, and the field goal attempt will be disallowed immediately whether successful or unsuccessful."
The rule was born out of a game between the Knicks and the Chicago Bulls on January 15, 1990 at Madison Square Garden. The game was tied at 106 with one-tenth of a second left in regulation and the Knicks in possession. During a time-out called by the Knicks, both teams prepared for what was seen as the only possible way the Knicks could win in regulation; an alley oop tap-in from out of bounds by Patrick Ewing.
When play resumed, the Knicks player throwing the ball in, Mark Jackson, saw the alley-oop play get broken up. He proceeded to throw the ball inbounds to Tucker, who was the only player open. Tucker then turned around and hit a three point jump shot before the buzzer, giving the Knicks the win, 109-106.
The Bulls later filed an official protest with the NBA about the play. However, timekeeper Bob Billings and referee Ronnie Nunn, who were working that game, claimed everything went perfectly fine. The protest was disallowed.
However, vice-president of operations Rod Thorn was the only NBA executive to side with the Bulls. (Incidentally, Thorn was once the general manager of the Bulls.) He pointed out that tests in European basketball leagues, which had used the tenths-of-a-second clock long before the NBA (they were in their first year of its use at the time), proved that it takes at least three-tenths of a second for an inbounds pass to touch a player and release it for a shot.
This became the backbone for the time requirements of the new rule. Teams with the possession of the ball with less than 00.3 left also have the option of trying a hail-mary shot like the one that the Knicks were going to try before Tucker's shot, or to simply let the clock run to zero.
