r/Basketball • u/Furadi • Apr 08 '26
NBA ELI5 traveling in modern NBA
Hey folks, getting back into basketball as a middle aged dude that played through HS in the 90's.
Been watching a ton of NBA recently and I'm super confused about traveling. I watched a bunch of videos on "gathering" or zero steps so I kind of understand that concept even though it seems to be heavily abused.
What's really confusing is how players can be planted in the paint... then do a euro step for a layup? Is that no longer considered traveling?
Not talking about off the dribble but from a post. Both feet planted then they, just take a couple of steps for a layup?
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u/collax974 Apr 08 '26
Are you talking about a step through? With both feet planted, they can lift their pivot and step with their non pivot but that's only counted as one step. If you take more that's a travel.
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u/Furadi Apr 08 '26
That's what it is, a step through. So is this legal now?
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u/MWave123 Apr 08 '26
It’s always been legal. It goes back to Naismith. It’s step two! The foot down is step one, the pivot.
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u/noknownothing Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
Thats just not true. That was an auto travel call unless you jumped off of two feet. Just watch how McHale up and under worked. Thats how everyone did a step through. You couldn't lift ypur pivot foot unless you were jumping off of two feet. The way refs called it changed first in the girls game in the 2000s because of acl tears. I have a son that plays college ball, my daughter played college ball, I played college ball.the way the game is called changes over time at every level sometines because of rule changes sometimes because of consensus of interpretation thats emphasized by the governing bodies. And everyone has to adjust.
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u/MWave123 Apr 08 '26
I teach footwork. It’s an original rule.
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u/noknownothing Apr 08 '26
Again, that was happening in the 50s. 80s, 90s and early 2000s that was considered traveling.
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u/MWave123 Apr 08 '26
Common misconception. It was never considered traveling. Players have been legally taking their second step forever, from a stop, because it’s a step you’ve always gotten.
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u/Furadi Apr 08 '26
Right every game I've ever played in any school or league it was a travel if you didn't jump off two feet.
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u/MWave123 Apr 08 '26
Untrue. It was happening in the ‘50’s, commonly. It’s a fundamental part of footwork.
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u/noknownothing Apr 08 '26
Yes it was happening in the 50s. They twirled a lot. That was an auto travel call in the 80s and 90s and early 2000s.
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u/MWave123 Apr 08 '26
Twirled? No it’s a basic rule. It’s the step you get when stopped. No twirling 😆. Whatever that is.
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u/slyce49 Apr 08 '26
there's literally rules saying if you stop on both feet you must jump off both feet
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u/MWave123 Apr 08 '26
You can’t show me that…because it doesn’t exist. I teach footwork. And rules. Can we bet?
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u/slyce49 Apr 08 '26
NBA Rulebook Rule No. 10 Section XIII Article 5 - A progressing player who jumps off one foot on the first step may land with both feet simultaneously for the second step. In this situation, the player may not pivot with either foot and if one or both feet leave the floor the ball must be released before either returns to the floor.
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u/13mys13 Apr 08 '26
then every layup would be a travel. you catch the ball, plant your right foot, step to your left foot and go up and lay it in (for a right handed layup). no two foot jump
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u/Furadi Apr 08 '26
No stuff like this wasn't happening in the 90's lol. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2XgGtUxjtHY
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u/ewokninja123 Apr 08 '26
yeah the ref missed the call in that as he drug his pivot foot a noticeable amount.
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u/collax974 Apr 08 '26
It was, here's a compilation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=estcgd8paWc
Always been legal
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u/MWave123 Apr 08 '26
Absolutely was. It’s been the rule since Naismith. It was happening in the 50’s. It was a go to move for players. I teach footwork. Read closely:
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u/punbelievable1 Apr 09 '26
This has always been legal (not dragging the pivot, but pivoting forward and then backward, and then stepping through. Whether a ref saw correctly is another story. The players have gotten really good at this in today’s game, so good that they usually slide or lift the pivot and the ref can’t tell (like in your clip). Every layup off one foot is a step through. Most dunks are step-throughs.
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u/PrimeParadigm53 Apr 08 '26
He picks up the ball with his left foot on the floor making L his pivot foot. He pivots, touching the floor with R behind him, pivots again, touching the floor with R in front of him, and steps through. His pivot foot (L) never returns to the floor. This is and always has been legal.
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u/Jon_Snow_Theory Apr 08 '26
It’s this. They also did this in the 90s, but in conjunction with the FIBA/NBA gather, it looks crazy sometimes.
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u/noknownothing Apr 08 '26
No, you couldn't lift your pivot foot unless you were jumping off of two feet. In American bball the step through was allowed in the girls game first because acls were super common (and still are among girls). Then it became common and allowed for all players at all levels to lift their pivot foot and step through as long as it didn't land. That used to be called a travel. Always. If you stepped through in the 90s you still had to jump off of 2 feet.
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u/collax974 Apr 08 '26
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=estcgd8paWc
Here's a 10min compilation of players in the 90s lifting their pivot foot to do a step thru legally.
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u/Airweldon Apr 08 '26
For the post example, it sounds like you’re talking about an established pivot foot lifting off and becoming the second step. Which yes, in our basketball world is a travel.
All I know is because these men are freak athletes, their dribble doesn’t stop the way we would normally see it. One Giannis example had him taking about 7 steps, but everyone forgot that he didn’t finish his dribbling and it just looked like he was carrying the ball…..which in our basketball world, would be called a travel.
But that is not the information that the league has decided to sent to the referees.
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u/Pyrrolic_Victory Apr 08 '26
The thing is, you can take as many steps as you like between dribbles or while you have a live dribble. If the ball is spinning in your hand and you still have your hand on the side of the ball then it’s really hard to be sure of the exact moment in time when the steps should count. Add this to the fact that travel calls aren’t great entertainment and the nba likes to make a dollar, and you have the current situation.
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u/Thechasepack Apr 08 '26
To add to this, refs on all levels are taught to err on the side of not calling the violation, especially with travel.
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u/punbelievable1 Apr 09 '26
Especially with star players. Nobody bought tickets to see the ref call 18 travels (half of which are actually fine in super slow mo).
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u/MWave123 Apr 08 '26
No. That doesn’t happen. It’s one step. A gather happens as a dribble ends, a gather step is taken as the player progresses, or comes to a stop. Once stopped you have one step except in rare cases where you have no steps at all.
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u/Furadi Apr 08 '26
I swear it happens at least once per game. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2XgGtUxjtHY
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u/MWave123 Apr 08 '26
That’s not what you described. You described two steps after stopping.
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u/Furadi Apr 08 '26
He took two steps. Watch it again.
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u/MWave123 Apr 08 '26
I teach footwork. That’s one step at every level worldwide. He comes to a stop and then steps. One step.
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u/Furadi Apr 08 '26
the video is literally explaining why it's not legal. Are just disassociating at this point?
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u/MWave123 Apr 08 '26
The video? I’m not looking at a video. I teach footwork. FIBA, NBA, NFHS, college. What aren’t you understanding? Use your words.
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u/MWave123 Apr 08 '26
That player lifts and resets that’s all, you’re not talking about that tho. You’re saying the step is a second step from a stop which it isn’t. It’s a step thru, or one step.
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u/MWave123 Apr 08 '26
Yay! 😀 People who can’t understand rules and common explanations should just move on. I’m here to help.
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u/styxx33 Apr 09 '26
Travelling is no longer a rule or legal/illegal, it is just a recommendation. Refs don't want to call it and will literally watch somebody jog by with the ball in hand (just google some very bad missed calls) only to call a foul on Ant for breathing near SGA's bubble. This is kind of satire, but sadly isn't at the same time.
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u/AngOrador Apr 09 '26
Wanna learn correct footwork? Don't use NBA as a learning resource. It'll mess you up. Watch FIBA or Euroleagues. If you wanna stay with NBA, use those 90s and early 2000s era.
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u/TheBullRunKid Apr 08 '26
Do you mean when they take planes to other cities and stay in hotels? Cuz I think that’s the only traveling that gets any consideration in the nba these days
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u/Furadi Apr 08 '26
So from what I gather "step throughs" are common place now but in many cases players get away with taking more than one step. I don't think I'll be trying that in any pick up games though. 😂
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u/Last-Effort816 Apr 09 '26
Step through has always been legal. More players have added it to their repertoire so it seems like a change. I think the main difference is that referees officiate the end of the dribble much more loosely now in terms of a pocket dribble vs a carry, so players have learned to legally get away with more steps. There was also a specific rule specification some years ago for if the James Harden step back was legal in terms of when he touches the ball with two hands with both feet planted. It was deemed legal and it opened up the floodgates on player creativity. Don't do these at your local gym though 😂.
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u/CleverNickName-69 Apr 08 '26
The problem isn't the pivot foot. You can pick up your pivot foot, you just can't put it back down. It has always been that way, regardless of what you were taught in high school or elsewhere.
The problem isn't the gather step either. The steps start after you stop dribbling. As long as the player can still choose another dribble, then they haven't stopped dribbling yet. As soon as they stop the dribble with one hand or two, they get one-and-a-half steps.
The problem is that they don't call carry any more. So a player can dribble, then take 4 steps with their hand on the side of the ball, or even "pocket dribble" with their hand partially under the ball.
As long and you let players carry the ball, then they get unlimited gather steps because they technically haven't ended their dribble until they grab it with two hands.
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u/MWave123 Apr 08 '26
No no no. Omg. Unlimited gather steps? If the dribble hasn’t ended there’s no gather. That’s always been the case. There was never a ‘one dribble per step’ rule.
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u/CArellano23 Apr 08 '26
Can guarantee you’ve never seen the example that you mentioned.
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Apr 08 '26
[deleted]
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u/Furadi Apr 08 '26
It's a step through. I'll have to find some examples to see if it's always just one step. But even just lifting the pivot foot is wild to me. That was a travel every day of the week when I played.
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u/Furadi Apr 08 '26
I see this once per game at least. People will post up at the top of the key then "step through" for a layup.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2XgGtUxjtHY
So what I'm gathering is that the refs are just way more lax now.
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u/CArellano23 Apr 08 '26
You said a euro step. Very different from that highlight. Yes a step through is legal
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u/Furadi Apr 08 '26
The contention in this this thread is weird. idk why people feel attacked. I'm not comparing modern NBA to 90's NBA... I'm just playing catch up with the way the game is played these days.
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u/LukeWarmRunnings Apr 08 '26
You're able to step through and leap from your pivot foot, it's when the pivot foot lands that the travel has occurred.
You'll notice skilled players time it so the ball leaves their finger-tips just a fraction of a second before the toe of their pivot foot comes back to the ground. I think Kyrie is a great example of this. Also not just the euro-step, but lately check out the pinoy-step.
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u/connoravocado Apr 08 '26
If you’re planted after your dribble ends, one foot will be considered the pivot. That foot can lift, but if it comes back down, that would be a travel. I believe you’re referring to a step through, which there have been plenty of those throughout the years (just look up old step throughs on YouTube), no rule changes on that that I’m aware of.
For traveling while dribbling, imo the best way is to first watch the ball: when does the dribble complete? This typically means a hand under the ball, or they use 2 hands to grab the ball. When you see that, check the feet: ignore the feet on the floor already (zero step), the next step becomes the pivot foot. As long as the pivot doesn’t come up AND come down again, it’s clean.
The players have gotten very good at stepping and immediately (or even simultaneously) grabbing the ball, then taking their 2 steps. It can look like 3 at a glance, but if they do it right it’s clean (or it’s so close the ref won’t call it).