# Basketball:  The extra arc

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-the-extra-arc/110874>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 26, 2002, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-the-extra-arc/110874 "2002-05-26T03:07:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![JamesCarroll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@JamesCarroll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JamesCarroll)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-the-extra-arc/110874/1 "2002-05-26T03:07:19Z")

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I’m not a big B-ball fan, but as I was flipping through some of the recent NBA finals game I noticed a small arc of paint in “the paint”.

Anyone know what that is there for?

Thanks.

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**Author:** ![WSLer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@WSLer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WSLer)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-the-extra-arc/110874/2 "2002-05-26T03:25:47Z")

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The NBA shortened the 3-point line a few years back, and then they returned to the origianl distance. Also, some college teams play their games on NBA courts, so the line may be the college 3-point line.

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**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-the-extra-arc/110874/3 "2002-05-26T03:59:01Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by JamesCarroll \*  
> \*\*I’m not a big B-ball fan, but as I was flipping through some of the recent NBA finals game I noticed a small arc of paint in “the paint”.
> 
> Anyone know what that is there for?
> 
> Thanks. \*\*

If you mean the small arc just under the basket, that is the exclusion arc. An offensive player with the ball shall not be charged with a charging foul if he collides with a defensive player inside that arc. (Otherwise you could never attack the basket,)

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**Author:** ![JamesCarroll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@JamesCarroll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JamesCarroll)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-the-extra-arc/110874/4 "2002-05-26T04:12:03Z")

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Thanks that’s the “arc” I was referring to.

Just curious, when did they add that?

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**Author:** ![Diletante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Diletante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diletante)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/basketball-the-extra-arc/110874/5 "2002-05-26T08:10:47Z")

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Basically, it’s always been there, but only as an ‘imaginary line’. The rule states (roughly) that anyplayer within 3 feet of the basket will not be given a foul for charging. But it’s a lot easier for refs to figure out if the player is in that area within the circle. A few years ago, the NBA tweeked some rules to try to improve offensive performance. They decided that if it was easier to see that a player was inside the circle, it’d be easier to not make a charging call, therefore providing the offense with a relative advantage, without fundamentally changing any rules.