Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) shoots against the Los Angeles Clippers during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The hidden casualty of the new NBA take foul rule

By Sean Keane | Last updated 11/10/22

The NBA added a rule preventing “take” fouls to encourage scoring.

This year, “take” fouls — fouling to stop a transition opportunity without making a play in the ball — are punished like a technical foul. The opposing team gets one free throw, by their choice of shooter, and possession. But according to Donovan Mitchell, preventing scoring wasn’t the only reason for take fouls.

“I came from an organization where we did it all the time; we probably led the league,” Mitchell told The Ringer.“If you’re tired and you need a break, you definitely want that take foul. We did that a lot in Utah.”

Indeed, Mitchell did it 31 times last season, the second-most in the NBA. His Jazz did lead the league by a large margin, averaging more than two take fouls every game.

To some degree, it depended which team you were watching, with one particular culprit nearly at two per game all by themselves.https://t.co/Shc10gnnlz pic.twitter.com/UaLabMcuC3
— Kevin Pelton (@kpelton) October 20, 2022

The whole league is committing far fewer take fouls - just 0.27 per game in November. Mitchell is tied for the league lead with two, though he insists one of those was a legitimate steal attempt.

Of course, the other difference this year is that Mitchell plays alongside players who can’t legally rent a car like Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, rather than the old-timers’ club of Mike Conley, Joe Ingles, Rudy Gay, and Bojan Bogdanovic in Utah. Rudy Gobert was 29, but you get tired faster when you’re lugging a seven-one frame up and down the court.

Without as many breaks built into the game, the hidden advantage to 2022-23 might be cardio.

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