nba travel

NBA Changed Its Travel Rule, But It's Still Not Perfect

In the NBA , traveling is a gray area. Officials, or when trying to decipher a walk, detectives, are put in a tough position to make these calls. Guys like Houston Rockets guard James Harden and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James , who manipulate the rules to their advantage, toy refs into blowing their whistle.

So why is the traveling rule so hard to define? Well, the league clarified the rule prior to the 2019-20 season.

The NBA's Traveling Definition

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The main factor when calling a traveling violation is determining when a player gathers. The league updated the definition with new language in the NBA rule book. The new rules read as follows :

Definition of the Gather The following definition of the gather will be added to the definitions section of the playing rules: A. For a player who receives a pass or gains possession of a loose ball, the gather is defined as the point where the player gains enough control of the ball to hold it, change hands, pass, shoot, or cradle it against his body. B. For a player who is in control of the ball while dribbling, the gather is defined as the point where a player does any one of the following: (1) Puts two hands on the ball, or otherwise permits the ball to come to rest, while he is in control of it; (2) Puts a hand under the ball and brings it to a pause; or (3) Otherwise gains enough control of the ball to hold it, change hands, pass, shoot, or cradle it against his body.

In layman's terms, the player is allowed two steps post gather step. Some guys are so quick when they gather — leaving it to the discretion of the refs — that it looks like a walk to the average fan, which is where the scrutiny is built from.

It's up to NBA officials to determine when a player gathers, and NBA players love putting the pressure on them.

Given these rules agreed upon by the NBA Board of Governors, Harden's famous step back and Euro step into field goal attempts are more than legal, even if it appears the 2018 NBA MVP's completion of a dribble is murky.

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NBA President of League Operations Byron Spruell issued a comment on the rule changes:

"One of the most misunderstood rules in our game is how traveling is interpreted and appropriately called," Spruell said . "Revising the language of certain areas of the rule is part of our three-pronged approach to address the uncertainty around traveling. This approach also includes an enforcement plan to make traveling a point of emphasis for our officiating staff, along with an aggressive education plan to increase understanding of the rule by players, coaches, media and fans."

Spruell appeared on ESPN's The Jump in October 2019 to further elaborate on the rule change. The crew talks about traveling at the four-minute mark in the video above.

While switching a pivot foot is an easy traveling call, the gather is the basis of this contentious rule. The second step may seem like an extra step, but as long as it's after a gather, it's within the rule book's confines.

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How Do NBA Teams Travel and Who Pays for Hotel Rooms?

The NBA of the 21st-century offers fans a more candid look at the players and the product than nearly any other era of the game. Fans can see what a player does before the game, during the game, and after the game thanks to social media and expanded television coverage. One aspect of the NBA that might remain a mystery to fans, however, is how NBA teams travel to every game.

NBA players travel across the country, but those who are not in the know may not know what this entails as they do so. 

Home games allow the players to get to where they need to be on their own. Players might arrive in fancy cars or beat-up old ones, depending on is driving. In bigger markets, a player might take more extreme measures to get to the game. Kobe Bryant reportedly took a helicopter to some games to avoid the traffic down below. When you make eight-figures a year, the options are endless. 

Home games supply the players with a proper routine that allows them to get to every game at the same time and do everything they need in the comfort of home. Because of this, the home-court advantage doesn’t just apply to crowd noise and location. The entire lead-up to the game is different than a road trip.

How do NBA teams travel to away games?

The NBA may be full of high-flyers, but this doesn’t mean they can take off in Sacramento and land in New York. In prior eras, players had to wait in airports and fly commercially unless their owners had another way to do so.

Now, chartering private jets to get from point A to point B is the norm, and the jets come decked out in luxury that is made for these larger-than-life people aboard. 

The Sacramento Kings, for example, recently rented a private jet that is owned by rap superstar Drake as they traveled overseas to India . The plane, called “Air Drake,” is filled with custom features that reportedly cost the rapper $185M.

It is a Boeing 767, but a look inside shows that this is no passenger liner. The plane is filled with lounge seats and tables where the players could stretch their legs and relax instead of a squeeze behind seats that people two-feet-smaller than them struggle to fit in. 

While other planes may not be quite as fancy, the planes that the players are taking to games are nicer than a commercial flight, and owners are expected to get them to every game in style. 

Food and comfort

View this post on Instagram Success is not something you pursue. Success is something you attract by the person you become. A post shared by Tobias Harris (@tobiasharris) on Dec 4, 2019 at 12:14pm PST

While the owners are the ones who are supposed to get players around the country, their responsibility does not end there. Players need to eat, and while they all can afford to eat on the road, the team is the one who supplies the funds for meals.

Certainly, if a player wanted to live the high-life and eat at a fine-dining establishment they could go out of pocket, but stingier players can stretch their $133 per diem to not only help feed them but get some pocket money, as well. 

Owners also provide the lodging for the players, and this means putting them in four and five-star hotels. With one of the greatest unions in the world behind them, players have ensured that even when they are on the road in a grueling schedule, they are afforded every luxury within reason.

Not only do their hotels meet this, but players who need to get to the game are also afforded luxury buses or other vehicles to help get them there in style. 

Life on the road for an NBA player can be tough, but with chartered flights, nice hotels, and even a little bit of lunch money to hold them over, the road life in the NBA has some perks. And in the end, all of the expenses fall in the lap of the owners , not that most of them have any trouble paying.

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Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined Sportscasting in 2021. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL and soccer landscape, as well as his expertise breaking down sports media, which stems from his many years downloading podcasts before they were even cool and countless hours spent listening to Mike & The Mad Dog and The Dan Patrick Show , among other programs.

As a longtime self-professed sports junkie who even played DII lacrosse at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, Tim loves reading about all the latest sports news every day and considers it a dream to write about sports professionally. He’s a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York who mistakenly thought, back in the early ’90s, that his team would be in the Super Bowl every year. He started following European soccer — with a Manchester City focus — in the early 2000s after spending far too much time playing FIFA.

When he’s not enjoying a round of golf or coaching youth soccer and flag football, Tim likes reading the work of Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Chuck Klosterman, and Tom Wolfe.

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By: James Patterson

Published: 05 October, 2022

What is Traveling in Basketball? The NBA Travel Rule and the Eurostep (with Video)

Traveling is one of the most common -- and misunderstood -- rules in the NBA and all of basketball. The traveling call is intended to prevent players from gaining an advantage by moving with the ball without dribbling. Traveling is a violation in basketball and is penalized by awarding the ball to the opposing team out of bounds closest to where the travel occurred. It is one of the most common fouls called by referees during a game, and many NCAA and NBA players have committed it throughout many games.

What is the traveling rule in basketball?

The basic concept of traveling is based on the “pivot foot”, which can be either the left foot or right foot. Once an offensive player receives the ball or picks up his dribble, he is allowed to move one foot, while the other foot has to remain on the floor as a pivot foot. This foot is allowed to rotate, as long as the ball of the foot remains on the floor at all times. A travel occurs when the player lifts the pivot foot, taking a second step, and then returns it to the floor before releasing the ball on a pass or a shot. For instance, if a player receives a pass and jumps with both feet to attempt a shot and returns to the floor without shooting, it is considered a traveling violation by the refs.

The gather step is a recent rule change in the NBA rulebook that helps to clarify what happens when a basketball player receives the ball, or takes two handed possession of the ball after the completion of a dribble. It states that “A player who gathers the ball while progressing may (a) take two steps in coming to a stop, passing or shooting the ball or (b) if he has not yet dribbled, one step prior to releasing the ball to start his dribble.” This rule has been especially controversial because James Harden is noted for using the gather step rule in his stepback jumper during many NBA games. However, it is legal because he gets control of the ball and takes two steps back, which can be seen in slow motion. The gather step goes hand in hand with the jab step move, where the player takes a step forward and then shoots it off his back foot.

What is the jump Stop?

The jump stop rule is part of the traveling rule that allows a player to make a jump stop move, which can be useful when trying to change directions quickly. According to the traveling rule, if a player, while in possession of the ball, jumps off one foot, he may then land on two feet and use either one as the pivot foot or jump again off both feet before passing or shooting the ball. However, if the player jumps off one foot and then returns both feet to the floor at slightly different times, it is considered a travel, as the first foot would then be considered the pivot foot.

The Euro Step, popularized by Manu Ginobili, is a fundamental basketball move that functions similar to the gather step and takes very good footwork to accomplish. The move is achieved when a player that is driving to the basket picks up his dribble and takes two jump steps before turning into a layup or a dunk. Since the player is gathering the ball he can use his two steps to create forward movement and use the change in speed to fool the defense.

Other Traveling Rules

There are other situations which constitute a travel that aren’t covered under the main traveling rule. For instance, if a player is standing and holding onto the ball and falls to the floor, it is considered a travel. Also, if the player is kneeling or laying on the floor and stands up without first dribbling the ball, it is also considered a travel. A player is also not allowed to touch any part of the body to the floor -- other than the hand -- while holding the ball. If he does, he will be called for a travel. If a player, without possession of the ball, slides across the floor to retrieve a loose ball, he is permitted to slide with the ball without being called for a travel.

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James Patterson specializes in health and wellness topics, having written and produced material for the National Institutes of Health, the President's Cancer Panel and an Inc. 500 Hall of Fame company. He is also a former sportswriter with writing experience in basketball, baseball, softball, golf and other popular sports.

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How do NBA teams travel?

How do NBA teams travel? Every NBA team plays at least 82 games during a season, a number that goes over 100 if we include the preseason games and potential playoff games. In half of these games, every team plays on the road which means that each team takes around 100 flights each season.

The schedule is created in a way that the teams play the division rivals more than the teams from the other conference mainly to reduce the flying time, but still, there is a lot of time in the air for every player.

To makes things even worse, the teams often take the flights to a road game right after they have finished a game in their city, which means that they arrive late in other cities that are often in a different time zone.

NBA teams spend more time at cruising altitude than teams in any other professional league. The jet lag from traveling to 41 road games during the regular season may be really difficult.

Why NBA teams usually have a worse record on road is not as much as because of the fans in the arena but to the traveling process. Each time during the regular season goes on a tour that lasts a week with the team traveling from town to town, which sometimes makes the players forget where they are when they wake up in the morning.

The NBA travel schedule, with travel across four time zones, is as difficult as it comes. Probably, it is the worst when teams play back-to-back road games.

NFL teams routinely travel as far, but only play once a week with only eight or nine road games within a regular season and most of their games are played on Sundays.

MLB teams play more often, actually double as much as the NBA teams but spend four to five days in each city, making for fewer miles traveled. NBA teams play , on average, slightly over three games a week over a 26-week regular season. And they go far, with most teams traveling well over 40,000 miles over the regular season.

Knowing that there are many players in the league who are there for numerous years, the number of flying hours of an NBA veteran is close to an airline employee.

Given the fact that the teams need their players in the best possible physical shape, they do all in their power to make the traveling as comfortable as possible.

The players usually skip the regular airport control and do not wait in lines to get on their plane.

In 2015, the NBA and Delta Air Lines Inc struck a deal in which 27 of the 30 NBA teams would be carried by their chartered jets specifically fitted out to host NBA players.

Delta Air Lines Inc. started using Boeing 757s under a tentative agreement for NBA charters, with almost 50 percent more cabin space than the usual planes.

The planes that NBA teams are using, usually feature 54 leather business-class seats with as much as 5 feet of pitch or the distance from a spot on one row to the same place on the next one. That’s about twice as much as the industry standard and accommodates NBA players who average 6 feet, 7 inches. The seats swivel, so players can twist to chat or play cards.

It’s also customary for sports stars to get extra attention on charters, with crews ready to provide a coach’s favorite drink or a player’s food preferences.

The A319 that Delta has been using in the pro sports team airliner segment is the smallest of the VIP airliners in the space. NBA squads usually fly with about 50 players , staff, reporters, and guests.

The Miami Heat , Dallas Mavericks, and Houston Rockets are the only teams not covered by the agreement. The Heat and Rockets each use different charter companies while billionaire Mark Cuban’s Mavericks fly in their own 757.

Knowing how many flights the NBA teams have taken, of course, there have been some minor incidents.

In 1960, the Lakers narrowly averted being part of a major air disaster when their DC-3 charter crashed in an Iowa cornfield. Nobody on the plane was hurt. The Lakers were coming home from a game in St. Louis when about 10 minutes into the flight the generator in the team’s DC-3 charter failed, leaving the pilots without lights, heat, navigation devices, and radio power.

Unable to return back to Lambert Field in St. Louis because of the number of planes backed up over the airport, the pilots continued, hoping to navigate their way towards Minneapolis by starlight. They lost course, and soon had serious worries about fuel. Fortunately, the plane landed safely and no one was injured.

In 2017, Oklahoma City Thunder’s plane hit a bird on 30,000 feet leaving the nose of a charter plane left with a massive dent.

Last season, the Utah Jazz plane was forced for an emergency landing. Players and staff of NBA team Utah Jazz were left “shaken, but unharmed” after a bird strike forced the plane they were on to make an emergency landing.

The travel party had been heading to the team’s next game against the Memphis Grizzlies on a chartered flight but, just minutes into the journey, the decision was made to turn back for Salt Lake City Airport. The bird strike had caused a fire in at least one of the engines.

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Referees Confirm Traveling In The NBA Is Officially Legal Now

February 12, 2019 / 12:33 PM EST / CBS Boston

By  Michael Hurley , CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) -- A blue moon. Halley's Comet. A traveling call in the NBA.

Each of those events occurs with such a lack of frequency that they're generally not things you expect to see take place very often. If you do manage to capture the moment with your own vision, it becomes a moment you'll remember for a lifetime.

Monday night in the NBA offered an opportunity for one of those events to take place. It came when Wizards guard Bradley Beal picked up his dribble, took three steps on his way to the basket, lost control of the ball, took two more steps, and then made an ill-fated pass to Tervor Ariza.

Even in the NBA, where it takes an act of God for a traveling violation to be enforced, this was the prime opportunity for the men/women in gray to blow the whistle and boldly make the call that few refs have made before: traveling.

Cancel NBA refs. https://t.co/KybFya8cRh — Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) February 12, 2019

Alas ... there was no call.

The internet laughed together, as the internet typically does.

But one Twitter account that did not find the matter to be funny was the official account of NBA referees. This account not only failed to find the humor, but this  official account of NBA referees  tried to make the case that what the world had just witnessed was actually not a missed call. The  official account of NBA referees  tried to argue that Bradley Beal's five steps were legal.

The offensive player gathers with his right foot on the ground. He then takes two legal steps, before losing control of the ball. After regaining possession, a player is allowed to regain his pivot foot and pass or shoot prior to that foot returning to the ground. This is legal. https://t.co/0hVqgHw3w7 — NBA Referees (@OfficialNBARefs) February 12, 2019

Merely making the statement wasn't enough, though, as the account went on to tag ESPN hosts and Pistons color commentator Greg Kelser.

cc @SportsCenter @JalenRose @Espngreeny @GetUpESPN @YahooSports @SBNation @gkelser32 — NBA Referees (@OfficialNBARefs) February 12, 2019

That'll show 'em!

To recap -- the referees are trying to say that a player is apparently allowed to take multiple steps if that player loses possession (on his own, without contact) after taking multiple steps already.

(I suppose it's possible that the Twitter account was making a tongue-in-cheek assessment of the play? I don't know. I'm not familiar with the general tone of the account. But it at least appears to be a sincere message.)

That means players are free to simply run a few steps, intentionally bobble the basketball, run a few more steps, intentionally bobble the ball again, and continue on running around the court without ever having to worry about that pesky act of dribbling. (Who's got the time to dribble? And in THIS economy?)

Or it means that the refs on the court blew a call.

One or the other.

Either way, we should all remember the moment that we all almost witnessed a traveling call in the NBA. We were all. So. Close.

R.I.P. to traveling in the NBA: 1949-2019. It was a good run. ("Run." Get it? That was a joke.)

The explanation from NBA refs, proved without a doubt that referees are never, ever wrong, and also that we might never, ever see a traveling call made again.

You can  email Michael Hurley  or find him on Twitter  @michaelFhurley .

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How do NBA teams travel?

By: Author James

Posted on Published: October 15, 2021  - Last updated: December 28, 2023

When it comes to home games , players travel privately. Most of them have luxury cars and players use private keys or helicopters to avoid crowds. There is no big dilemma when it comes to traveling to visiting fields. NBA teams travel by plane to visit another arena, and ride the team plane back home.

We take an in depth look at how teams travel around the country to play NBA games and how they get to those games.

Is the NBA the most travelled league?

Yes the NBA is the most travelled league. Each NBA team travels over 40 games outside of home, in which they train and play home games every day during the season. We all know that the USA is a huge country and that there are several time zones that players go through when traveling to certain locations to play games on the away field. No league in the world travels as much as the NBA . People don’t pay much attention to that, but a large number of trips certainly affect players. Of course, over time, players gain a lot of experience, so traveling every few days has become a routine for them. On the other hand, for those young players or players who come from Europe and other continents, this can be a problem until they adjust.

When you travel to as many as 41 games outside your city during the season, the time lost from jet lag is certainly one of the problems that NBA players face. In other popular American sports, such as the NFL or MLB, you also travel a lot, but not as much as the NBA. In these sports, teams also stay for a few days and the number of games is not as large as in the NBA. The NBA league lasts a very long time and the teams that make it to the very end of the season play almost 100 games a season. There is not much time for a break because the matches are played very fast. You’ve barely finished the previous game and a new one is already coming. Many fans will say that the season in the NBA starts only in the playoffs, due to lack of performance because of constant travel.

How many miles to NBA players fly a year

The number of trips is much smaller in the playoffs, which is certainly one of the mitigating factors. Also then, NBA teams travel to teams that are in the same conference as the home team, which is a much better option because teams travel all over the USA in the regular part of the season. Each NBA team travels over 40,000 miles on average over one season. Considering that fact, and the huge number of games NBA teams play during the season, one should pay great respect to the few players who travelled to the Tokyo Olympics this summer just a few days after the end of the season to celebrate the USA in the Olympics once again.

Certain research has shown that travel has an impact on player performance. Allegedly, according to certain statistics , teams that travel from east to west win much less than teams that travel in the opposite direction. The percentage ratio is approximately 45% to 35% concerning the number of games played in the season. We talked about the fact that the problem can be several time zones that teams go through until they reach a certain location to play the match. Teams can come to the matches sleepy and routinely lose the match due to the consequences of jet lag.

Do NBA players fly by private jet?

We have already mentioned how NBA teams travel to their games, whether they are home games or away games. Of course, away games are a much bigger problem. However, what both types of travel have in common is that you come to a certain location with style. Quite expectedly, the player will come to the match on his field in a luxury car, and the players do not lack that luxury even when traveling away. NBA teams, as we said, travel a lot, but there are also certain facilities on these regular trips. Since people travel to the visiting fields by plane, certain norms have been established regarding those trips.

Most teams travel by charter flights which involve direct flights from point A to point B. These are not flights that involve transfers from one plane to another or long waits at airports. Simply when you have such a league in which so many people travel, charter flights must be the standard. The planes on which they travel offer all the necessary comfort for easy arrival at all locations in the USA. Some clubs, like the most trophy-winning NBA teams LA Lakers and the Boston Celtics , have their own specially designed airplanes that allow their players to come on tour with style. There is no need to waste words on the fact that these are certainly very luxurious planes that offer players everything they need for a pleasant flight.

When players arrive at the desired location they stay in luxury hotels. In every club, some people make sure that every trip goes smoothly, be it a plane flight, a hotel stay, a player’s diet , etc. The option to change the competition system in the NBA to reduce the number of trips has been considered for years, but that idea has not been elaborated in more detail yet, and it remains to be seen whether it will be applied in practice in the future.

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DENVER, CO - NOVEMBER 21: Referee Gary Zielinski #59 makes a traveling call as the New Orleans Pelicans face the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center on November 21, 2014 in Denver, Colorado. The Nuggets defeated the Pelicans 117-97. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

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Gather and two steps.

That is how the NBA has defined the traveling rule for many years now. A player can take a step if he is in the process of “gathering” a dribble or pass, then has two steps. Players such as James Harden have stretched that to the limit, frustrating opponents and non-Rockets fans, but it’s legal.

This is a legal play. Although James puts the ball behind his back, he only takes two steps after the gather of the ball and therefore it is NOT a travel. https://t.co/i1hU3b4zuQ — NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) October 10, 2018

Now the NBA is looking to better define that “gather” step, then crackdown on enforcement of the rule. With that will come an education program for everyone from players to fans. All of this was approved at the NBA’s Board of Governors’ meeting in New York on Friday. “One of the most misunderstood rules in our game is how traveling is interpreted and appropriately called,” Byron Spruell, NBA President, League Operations, said in a statement. “Revising the language of certain areas of the rule is part of our three-pronged approach to address the uncertainty around traveling. This approach also includes an enforcement plan to make traveling a point of emphasis for our officiating staff, along with an aggressive education plan to increase understanding of the rule by players, coaches, media and fans.”

That “aggressive education plan” should be interesting.

At the meeting, the owners also made gamblers everywhere happy by saying that starting lineups now need to be submitted by coaches 30 minutes prior to the start of the game. In past years that had been only 10 minutes (and road teams complained that was not evenly enforced between home and road teams all the time).

This is a good bit of transparency by the league, as have been some of the recent changes in requirements of announcing injuries. But make no mistake, this rule change is all about gambling .

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Layup lines: nba smartly reduces travel even more in 2022-23, share this article.

Welcome to Layup Lines, our daily NBA newsletter where we’ll prep you for a tip-off of tonight’s action, from what to watch to bets to make.  Subscribe here  to get it  delivered to your inbox every afternoon.

The NBA revealed its schedule for the 2022-23 season on Wednesday, and it gave us plenty of things to talk about.

The social videos released by individual teams were great — well, some of them. Conspiracy theories about Utah’s only televised game ran amok, and basketball bettors finally had something to salivate over as the season nears.

But the funny thing to me about all of this is, unlike the NFL, every team in the NBA plays each other at least twice, every season. And there’s 82 games. Outside of maybe Opening Day and Christmas , there’s nothing particularly interesting about the schedule release. But I did find one thing to be noteworthy:

Per NBA.com’s Mark Medina , the estimated miles traveled for the upcoming season has been reduced to 41,000 miles per team, a record low in the era of 30 teams and 82 games. That marks an estimated reduction of nearly 2,000 miles per team and a total of more than 50,000 miles from last season. They also increased the instances of no travel between games by 66%.

As talks of reducing the length of the season constantly come up, I’m encouraged that the league is still finding ways to reduce travel. I personally like the 82-game schedule, so anything the NBA can do to make that marathon easier on the athletes, I’m all for. In turn, it should help keep the players fresher and make the product even better.

As schedule releases go, I’m not particularly interested. But this is good news.

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LeBron James signed a two-year, $97.1 million extension with the Lakers on Wednesday, putting an end to questions about his immediate future as he nears the end of his career.

Nobody really expected this deal to come now, but it actually makes a lot of sense. Our guy Sykes put together seven reasons why it was the right call by the King. Here’s one:

“Don’t get it twisted — this deal doesn’t mean James is a Laker for the rest of his career. Of course, he can be. But it’s not set in stone.

James has a player option in year two of his extension. It’s essentially the same sort of 1+1 deal James signed when he played for the Cavaliers. It’s a play for leverage and puts the Lakers right back in this situation they were in this summer next year with James’ future in the balance.

The ball is still in his court. That’s got big implications for something further down this list.”

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First Round, Game 1: Phoenix Mercury (+1000) at Las Vegas Aces (+16.5, -2500), O/U 167.5, 10 PM ET

Look, the Aces are my favorites to win the WNBA championship. And injuries have reduced the Mercury to a lot less of the team they were during the regular season. But this is the playoffs, and that spread is ridiculously large. So give me Phoenix to cover.

Shootaround

— The Celtics and Bucks lead updated NBA title odds after the schedule release.

— Looking for some NBA-NFL crossover content? Look no further than the dad of Lions star calling out Kevin Durant’s calves on Hard Knocks.

— HoopsHype has more on what’s next for LeBron after his extension with the Lakers.

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NBA Admits Tyrese Maxey Traveled on Pivotal Four-Point Play in 76ers–Knicks

Tom dierberger | may 1, 2024.

• New York Knicks
• Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey stole the show Tuesday night, scoring seven points in the final 25 seconds to force overtime and eventually defeat the New York Knicks in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series at Madison Square Garden.

But on Wednesday, the NBA revealed in its Last Two Minute Report that one of Maxey's game-changing plays in the final minute shouldn't have counted. He traveled before launching a three-pointer from 25 feet with 25 seconds remaining.

"Maxey gathers the ball on his left foot, takes two legal steps, and then moves his right foot again just before he is fouled on his shot," the report indicates.

TYRESE MAXEY DRILLS THE 3 + THE FOUL !!! SIXERS CUT THE DEFICIT TO 2 ON TNT 25 SECONDS REMAINING pic.twitter.com/rEEHKWthL0 — NBA (@NBA) May 1, 2024

Instead, no traveling violation was called, and Maxey drilled the three-pointer and the free throw to cut the Knicks' lead to two points.

If the travel had been called, the Knicks would've been awarded the ball with a six-point lead and 25 seconds left. The 76ers would be forced to foul, and the game likely ends in a Knicks win if they avoided turnovers and knocked down free throws.

The Last Two Minute Report also indicated that Knicks guard Josh Hart was not out of bounds with 41 seconds left in overtime when he tried to tap a loose ball to teammate Isaiah Hartenstein underneath the basket.

Instead of Hartenstein getting a chance to tie the game at 108, it was ruled a turnover. The 76ers went on to outscore the Knicks 4–0 the rest of the game to secure the victory.

The Knicks, up 3–2 in the series, will get another chance to end Philadelphia's season on Thursday in Game 6 at Wells Fargo Center.

TOM DIERBERGER

WNBA to begin charter travel for all teams this season

This change in the way wnba players will travel to games will end league’s long-standing policy of mandated regular-season commercial flights..

The WNBA will begin charter travel for all 12 of its teams this season “as soon as we logistically can get planes in places,” Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told sports editors at a league meeting Tuesday afternoon, confirming a report on X by USA TODAY sports columnist Christine Brennan.

This very significant change in the way the world’s best women’s basketball players will travel to games will end the league’s long-standing policy of mandated regular-season commercial flights for its players. 

“We intend to fund a full-time charter for this season,” Engelbert said. "We're going to as soon as we can get it up and running. Maybe it’s a couple weeks, maybe it’s a month … We are really excited for the prospects here.”

The WNBA’s decision comes as the league is seeing unprecedented growth, ticket sales and interest as the most recognizable rookie class in WNBA history, led by Caitlin Clark — arguably the best-known athlete in the nation — begins regular-season play May 14. 

It also comes as Clark and the rest of the WNBA rookies had to take their first commercial flights as professional athletes for preseason games last weekend and be exposed to members of the public walking near them, approaching them and taking photos and videos of them, including in unsecured airport areas. All teams are traveling with security personnel this season. 

"It was all right," Angel Reese said of flying commercial to Minneapolis for last Friday's game against the Minnesota Lynx.

"We have a great security team. Chicago has done a great job being able to put in place some great guys and they've been amazing for us," Reese said before the Sky's preseason game against the New York Liberty on Tuesday night.

In June 2023, Phoenix star Brittney Griner , who spent nearly 10 months in Russian custody in 2022, was harassed in the Dallas airport by a right-wing YouTube personality who yelled at her and tussled with Phoenix Mercury security in an airport concourse. The WNBA allowed Griner to fly private charters the rest of the season.

This season, the league was already planning to allow teams to charter when playing back-to-back games as well as during the playoffs but otherwise fly commercially. The league hasn’t allowed charter flights over the years because it said that would create a competitive advantage for teams that wanted to pay for them over those that did not. 

Flying commercial has been a part of the WNBA’s current collective bargaining agreement with its players, which was signed in 2020. Ironically, many WNBA newcomers flew on charters throughout their college careers.

WNBA player reaction

During a call with reporters on Tuesday, New York Liberty stars Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart weighed in on what charter travel would mean to players.

"As we continue to add more games into the season and change the way the Commissioner's Cup is being played this year, it just adds a little bit more travel into our schedules and stuff," Jones said. "If we can try to find some kinds of help with our recovery and, you know, just being able to get rest so that we can put our best product out there on the court."

Stewart agreed with Jones.

"It's exactly that, obviously. Understanding (it’s) player health and wellness but also player safety, and making sure that we can get from point A to point B and have the focus be our jobs and our team," Stewart said.

Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon, who had been an outspoken proponent of adding charter flights after spending eight years as an assistant with the NBA's San Antonio Spurs, said the immediate reaction from everyone is "great!"

"This is something that the league has been pushing for for a long time for its players," Hammon said. "I look at it as we can put a better product out there."

Contributing: Roxanna Scott, Christine Brennan , Nancy Armour, Lindsay Schnell

LeBron James Expected To Travel To Greece And Attend Giannis Antetokounmpo's Wedding

Giannis Antetokounmpo will celebrate his wedding over the offseason after the Milwaukee Bucks' first-round elimination from the 2024 NBA Playoffs. The wedding is expected to be one of the biggest events in Greece this year, and NewsIT has confirmed that LeBron James is expected to be in attendance. 

“In terms of guests, the number is expected to be…big! The latest information states that the great NBA star LeBron James has already accepted the invitation and will travel to Greece for the wedding of the year.” (Translated by Google)

Both former MVPs and the top two finishers of the 2020 MVP race saw their season end early in the first round this year. Giannis was out with injury as his Bucks fell in six games to a lower-seeded Indiana Pacers side, while LeBron led the Lakers in scoring as they lost in five games to the reigning champion Denver Nuggets.

The players have an open summer before the 2024 Olympics, where LeBron is expected to participate as one of the leaders of Team USA . Greece is yet to secure qualification for the Olympics, so Giannis will likely suit up in July to help his nation secure qualification, provided his calf injury has healed enough for him to compete without risk.

The date of Giannis' wedding is unknown, but it'll likely be a summer spectacle in Greece where more NBA players than just LeBron will be expected to arrive.

Giannis Antetokounmpo Will See His NBA GOAT Attend His Wedding

Most of the new generation of NBA superstars watched the likes of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James before they even came close to making the NBA. For Giannis, LeBron has always been his idol and someone he claimed was the GOAT of the sport, ahead of Michael Jordan .

“Some guys might say he is No. 2, but other guys like me, I say he is No. 1, and he’s still going.”  

Antetokounmpo hails LeBron with establishing a blueprint for long-term success that the next generation of NBA players will follow.

“For 21 years, you never get in trouble, to be able to take in his family, protect this family, raise his kids the right way, you know, be happily married, all those things, it’s perfect. He’s kind of like setting the blueprint for the rest of us to go forward. That’s what I want. I want to be able to do what I do on the court consistently, be good, be healthy, be available for my team, be able to, you know, raise my family in a bubble away from what I do on the court for them to have a normal life as much as I can. Stay out of trouble."

Given how Giannis appreciates LeBron's thriving personal life as well, it's wonderful to see him finally getting married to his long-time girlfriend Mariah Riddlesprigger. They've been an internet darling for years, whether because of Giannis' inappropriate jokes or the hilarious dynamic they share.

It's great to know that when Giannis celebrates the biggest day of his life alongside the birth of his two children and probably Game 6 of the 2021 NBA Finals, LeBron will be there in attendance to support the Greek superstar. 

Related: Giannis Antetokounmpo Opens Up On LeBron James' Legacy: "This Guy Is Like A Genius..."

Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News . We really appreciate your support.

NBA: Officials missed Tyrese Maxey travel at end of regulation

Tyrese Maxey drills a 3-pointer plus the foul to trim the Knicks' lead late. (0:36)

According to the NBA's Last Two Minute Report from Game 5 of the instant classic first-round series between the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks , Tyrese Maxey 's heroics never should've happened.

That's because the league said the game's refereeing crew missed a Maxey travel on his 3-pointer with 25.4 seconds to go, on which he was fouled by Knicks center Mitchell Robinson and made the free throw, beginning Philadelphia's remarkable comeback from down 6 with 28.9 seconds remaining in regulation to eventually win 112-106 in overtime and keep the 76ers' season alive.

There were three other calls that were deemed incorrect: there should have been 0.4 seconds left in regulation, and Knicks ball, after Nicolas Batum blocked Jalen Brunson 's potential game-tying shot out of bounds (the clock instead ran out, sending the game to overtime); Brunson should've been called for an offensive foul in overtime on the play that ultimately became a flagrant foul on Joel Embiid for hitting Brunson in the head; and Josh Hart was not actually out of bounds with 41.5 seconds to go.

It is another way in which Philadelphia's Game 5 miracle mirrors New York's doing the same thing to the Sixers in Game 2, as there were multiple officiating errors in New York's favor as part of that comeback in the Last Two Minute Report from that game.

The two teams have now both come back from at least five-point deficits inside the final 30 seconds of regulation to win a game in this series -- something that had happened only three times in the past 25 years before these playoffs, and now has happened twice in the same building in the past 10 days.

Game 6 will take place Thursday night in Philadelphia, with Game 7 -- if Philadelphia wins -- being back in New York on Saturday night.

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Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever embrace notion of using charter flights for WNBA travel

CORRECTS FROM CAITLYN TO CAITLIN - Pailynn Amos, center, holds a sign for Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark in front of her mother Rebecca Amos, of Ennis, Texas, prior to an WNBA basketball game against the Dallas Wings in Arlington, Texas, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)

Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark, left, gives autographs as she arrives on the Red Carpet before the world premiere and screening of Episode 1 of the upcoming ESPN+ Original Series Full Court Press, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) and head coach Christine Sides, center right, react after a play during the second half of an WNBA basketball game against the Dallas Wings in Arlington, Texas, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)

Young fans wait for Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark to arrive on the Red Carpet before the world premiere and screening of Episode 1 of the upcoming ESPN+ Original Series Full Court Press, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

CORRECTS FROM CAITLYN TO CAITLIN - Indiana Fever head coach Christine Sides, left, talks to Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) as they play the Dallas Wings during the first half of an WNBA basketball game in Arlington, Texas, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)

CORRECTS FROM CAITLYN TO CAITLIN - Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark reacts after making a basket during the first half of an WNBA basketball game against the Dallas Wings in Arlington, Texas, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark already is one of the WNBA’s most recognizable players.

So when she made her first road trip last week, the league’s top overall draft pick had to adapt. Instead of loading her bag directly onto a plane and boarding, Clark found herself traversing the same lines and waits as everyone else at the Dallas airport — just like most of the league’s players.

It’s a hassle she wouldn’t mind avoiding on future trips and now league commissioner Cathy Engelbert is working on a solution.

One day after Engelbert told a group of sports editors that she’s trying to find regular charter flights for all 12 WNBA teams, Clark and her new teammates embraced the move.

“I think you just have to be aware of where you are,” Clark said after Wednesday’s practice. “You travel with security, which is nice. It’s just different from college where you put your bag on the plane, hop on the plane and then you’re off. But like (here) you’re waiting at baggage claim, you’ve got to go through the normal security with everybody else. For me, it was my first time doing it. It wasn’t terrible. I just went about my business and kept my head down.”

Clark went on to score 21 points in her pro debut , a 79-76 loss.

But her star power has only fueled a debate that took center stage last season when Phoenix Suns star Brittney Griner was confronted by a man who started asking questions as she walked through an airport. The incident became so heated that the man was tackled and law enforcement was called.

League officials called the man’s actions “inappropriate” and “unfortunate.”

It spurred a leaguewide debate over player safety with some veteran stars asking that league officials do more, including charter flights. And now, with one of the most heralded rookie classes entering the league, Engelbert wants to take action even if she doesn’t have a defined timetable for when it could happen.

Fever coach Christie Sides also remembered sleeping in an airport while working with the Chicago Sky because of several delays before the flight was eventually canceled. She said the team took a 6 a.m. flight and played later that night.

For those reasons, it can’t start soon enough for those who have been around the league for years — or for Clark, who has been driving WNBA ticket sales upward after spending her last two seasons at Iowa driving a substantial increase in television ratings.

“I’m thankful at whatever point that happens, that would be great for us. It will make recovery easier, it will make travel easier,” Clark said. “It just makes life a lot easier for a lot of people, but also it’s just something a lot of people have deserved for years and years.”

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball