What is an intentional foul? A flagrant foul is a “you were trying to hurt this guy” foul. It seems to me about 70% of fouls are intentional.
Does it have to do with how many minutes are left in the game? I’m confused.
I’m only a casual fan, but here’s my stab at an asnwer:
Most fouls are not intentional, the defender is usually going for the ball - you don’t want to get called for the foul, even if you might be pushing the guy a bit. An intentional foul is when the defender is not going for the ball, but trying to hold up the ball carrier or someone else with the express purpose of stopping play or forcing the player to the line (so they can get the ball back after the foul shot). it is usually done later in the game, because a player normally is only hoping to get called for a foul when they are behind with little time on the clock, and need to get a shot off to tie the game or loosen the gap. IMHO, what constitues an intentional foul is somewhat subjective as most fouls toward the end of the game by the team that is behind are ‘intentional’, but they make it look like they were actually going for the ball, trying to take a chrage, etc.
The NBA, at least, doesn’t have a rule against “intentional” fouls. During the last 24 seconds the game, if a team is down by 3 or fewer points (sometimes more) they will foul the opposing player with the ball–who would be perfectly content to sit on the ball and let the clock run out–so that they will get possession back after the free throws. The hope is that the opposing player will miss one or both shots so that they would have a chance to tie or win after getting the ball back. Players make an extra effort to ensure they get called for the foul as quickly as possible, usually something like a bear hug. It’s a legitimate and common strategy.
The NBA’s flagrant foul is not necessarily intent to injure. The rule is (if I recall the official rule correctly) if the foul is “excessive and unnecessary.” Certainly such fouls are particularly nasty, but most of the time are the result of a player’s carelessness rather than malice. There is a “flagrant 2” foul as well, which only differs from “flagrant 1” in that the player committing the foul is ejected from the game.
There’s also the new Haq-a-Shaq foul (not the official name, of course). It goes like this: if a defending player commits a foul on a player who does not have possession of the ball, a technical foul is called. This way, when you have a Shaq on your team, the other team can’t Haq Shaq at the end of the game to make him take the free throws instead of, say, Kobe, who is sitting on the ball. That’s about as close as the NBA gets to penalizing a foul only for being intentional.
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Another time where one may intentionally foul another player is when, say, a player on offense is running a fast-break for an easy layup, a nearby defender may want to foul them before they get the shot (layup) off. The logic is to make them earn the points at the free-throw line rather than giving up an easy layup. If the defender doesn’t go for the ball, however, then it should be considered a flagrant.
The rule above is the “breakaway” foul. If a player has an unimpeded path to the basket and is fouled from behind, the fouled player gets two free throws and then his team gets to keep possession.
I think the foul away from the ball rule only applies in the final two minutes.
Flagrant fouls can be charged at any point in the game and they are either class I or class II. That makes a difference because after a certain number of them, there is an automatic suspension.
In college basketball, there are fewer distinctions. There is an intentional foul, which can be called at any time, and is usually only called when a player makes absolutely no attempt to get to the ball and just hits the player. That’s two free throws and the shooting team keeps possession.