Explaining the NBA Rule Changes for 2022-23 Season

The NBA is back. Those are three words basketball fans have been waiting to hear since June.

The league knows this, so it rewarded its audience with a pair of marquee games Tuesday night to mark the beginning of the 2022-23 campaign.

First up is the matchup between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Celtics made it all the way to the NBA Finals, so fans are naturally curious to see if they can make that next step to win the championship. They'll host the Sixers, who many believe fell woefully short of their potential last year.

For the second game of the doubleheader, the defending champion Golden State Warriors will play host to the Los Angeles Lakers and celebrate their 2022 championship with the ring presentation.

For basketball fans worldwide, it will be an exciting night of stars going head-to-head with full heads of steam and determination to begin the arduous regular season in the hopes of making the playoffs.

But before someone scores the season's first bucket, everyone should be aware of the league's new rules that take will take effect with the opening tipoff.

Perhaps the most notable rule change involves the so-called "transition take foul." The Association will impose a heightened penalty when the defense commits a transition take foul without making a legitimate play on the ball.

That includes when a player gives up on the play by wrapping up or grabbing the offensive player. Additionally, it also applies when a defender is out of position and unable to make a play on the ball.

The offense will receive a free throw, which can be taken by any player on the offended team, and the possession of the ball in that case.

The only exception to the rule is when the game is in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime.

"Some of our best play at the NBA is defensive basketball. We don’t want to discourage that; in fact, we think this rule will encourage that because now we’re asking you to make a legitimate play on the ball," Monty McCutchen, the NBA’s senior vice president overseeing referees and training, said.

"From that standpoint, we think more exciting basketball is on the horizon and these transition scoring opportunities—both defensively and offensively—can be highlight plays. We’ve lost some of that and we think this rule is going to inject that exciting play back into our game."

Another rule change worth noting is the "blue light" to signal an upcoming score change.

Should a player make a shot and officials aren't sure if it was worth two points or three points and they put two points on the scoreboard, for example, and then they find out from the NBA's replay center that it was in fact a three-pointer, they can immediately update the score and to make all parties aware of it, a blue light will be signaled to signify the updated score.

"The new interpretation is going to allow us to exponentially speed that up so everyone has the best information in as close to real time as they can," McCutchen said.

Finally, the league will be taking a close look at bench conduct because of the increase in players getting too close to the action by standing on the bench during play or encroaching on the sidelines or baselines that ultimately affects the game play,

"That’s going to be a little bit of a change," McCutchen added. "We want players on the bench to be able to react spontaneously to exciting basketball play. But it’s important that they not stand the whole game, because now you’re getting into game-integrity issues, injury possibility for game participants; we want to eliminate all that."

Everyone likes a good bench celebration, but rules are rules. You can't let anything affect the actual game.

Now that fans are up to speed on the rule changes, let the games begin.