# Do basketball rules make it impossible to snatch ball from attacking player **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 1, 2016, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-basketball-rules-make-it-impossible-to-snatch-ball-from-attacking-player/758886 "2016-07-01T20:33:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nansbread1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Nansbread1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nansbread1)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-basketball-rules-make-it-impossible-to-snatch-ball-from-attacking-player/758886/1 "2016-07-01T20:33:53Z")
Not a big basketball fan. Simply because i cant see how a defender can take the ball off the attacker. Intercept a pass? Low chance. Snatch the ball from his hands? Again low chances. An attacker can simply barge in and defender can do little about it. Convert me. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-basketball-rules-make-it-impossible-to-snatch-ball-from-attacking-player/758886/2 "2016-07-01T20:44:43Z")
At my admittedly amateur level of play, yelling, “hey! Lookie there!!!” and when they look in the direction I am pointing, grabbing the ball, works surprisingly often. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-basketball-rules-make-it-impossible-to-snatch-ball-from-attacking-player/758886/3 "2016-07-01T20:48:08Z")
Moved to the Game Room. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-basketball-rules-make-it-impossible-to-snatch-ball-from-attacking-player/758886/4 "2016-07-01T20:52:31Z")
> [@Nansbread1](#): > > Not a big basketball fan. Simply because i cant see how a defender can take the ball off the attacker. Intercept a pass? Low chance. Snatch the ball from his hands? Again low chances. An attacker can simply barge in and defender can do little about it. > > Convert me. You’re missing an important foul called a “Charge”. If the attacker just barges into the defender he gets called for a charge and it’s a turnover. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-basketball-rules-make-it-impossible-to-snatch-ball-from-attacking-player/758886/5 "2016-07-01T21:22:36Z")
Intercepting passes and snatching the ball from one’s hands happens more frequently than you might think. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-basketball-rules-make-it-impossible-to-snatch-ball-from-attacking-player/758886/6 "2016-07-01T22:12:54Z")
Sure, it happens a lot, but if the grabber is not good at it, he’ll pick up a lot of reaching- in fouls in short order. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-basketball-rules-make-it-impossible-to-snatch-ball-from-attacking-player/758886/7 "2016-07-01T22:26:47Z")
> [@Nansbread1](#): > > Not a big basketball fan. Simply because i cant see how a defender can take the ball off the attacker. Intercept a pass? Low chance. Snatch the ball from his hands? Again low chances. An attacker can simply barge in and defender can do little about it. This makes it sound like you’re picturing the “attacker” running down the court like a football quarterback. You do know they have to dribble—they can’t just carry the ball—right? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-basketball-rules-make-it-impossible-to-snatch-ball-from-attacking-player/758886/8 "2016-07-01T22:29:25Z")
You realize that basketball keeps track of [this very thing](http://espn.go.com/nba/history/leaders/_/stat/steals)? It’s not easy to steal a basketball, but it’s certainly possible. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2016, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-basketball-rules-make-it-impossible-to-snatch-ball-from-attacking-player/758886/9 "2016-07-08T01:53:48Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > You realize that basketball keeps track of [this very thing](http://espn.go.com/nba/history/leaders/_/stat/steals)? > > It’s not easy to steal a basketball, but it’s certainly possible. The Steals stat also includes stolen passes. The OP seems to be talking about is Strips. I don’t know if they are tracked by anyone. They should be, as they are a powerful defensive tool. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-basketball-rules-make-it-impossible-to-snatch-ball-from-attacking-player/758886/10 "2016-08-03T01:55:08Z")
A common mantra is you’re supposed to play defense with your feet, not your hands. Not quite true, but the point is to stay in front of the offensive player with your body and not reach in and get fouls or get off balance (“you reach, I teach”). Getting a steal off a live dribble against someone who knows what they’re doing is difficult. At least in the NBA, most steals are from playing the passing lanes or if the offensive player is under duress or in a chaotic situation, like being double teamed, on the break, players scrambling and not knowing where defenders are, or the shot clock is running down, and so on. Basketball rules tend to favor the offense and it’s a high scoring game, but it’s not a free for all. If an NBA player misses only half their shots they’re really good. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > This makes it sound like you’re picturing the “attacker” running down the court like a football quarterback. You do know they have to dribble—they can’t just carry the ball—right? > [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > If the attacker just barges into the defender he gets called for a charge and it’s a turnover. Unless your name is LeBron James, then it’s OK. I kid, I kid…mostly. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-basketball-rules-make-it-impossible-to-snatch-ball-from-attacking-player/758886/11 "2016-08-03T11:02:40Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Jackknifed Juggernaut** : > > The Steals stat also includes stolen passes. The OP seems to be talking about is Strips. No, he also mentions intercepting passes. And yes, it’s difficult to get steals against a pro-level player. You know what else is difficult against a pro-level player? Everything. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-basketball-rules-make-it-impossible-to-snatch-ball-from-attacking-player/758886/12 "2016-08-03T16:17:59Z")
NBA steals leaders average around 2 per game. The top teams average 9 - 10 steals per game. Sure, every other play doesn’t result in a take-away, but it’s not like you never see it. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-basketball-rules-make-it-impossible-to-snatch-ball-from-attacking-player/758886/13 "2016-08-03T16:48:10Z")
Not sure why you think this such an impossible or rare thing. Every NCAA or NBA game has multiple steals. [Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK6QlCMnzuE)is a video of one NBA professional just blatently taking the ball away from another. No foul was committed. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2016, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-basketball-rules-make-it-impossible-to-snatch-ball-from-attacking-player/758886/14 "2016-08-03T16:55:01Z")
As long as the defensive player has contact with the ball, he can whack the offensive player’s hand all he wants. “The hand is part of the ball” is a rule so long as the defensive player also has contact with the ball as well. So grabbing the ball out of an offensive players hands is perfectly legal in many cases.