NEW YORK, July 29 --The NBA Board of Governors today approved the use of instant replay to review certain last-second plays at the end of each quarter and overtime periods. The instant replay rule will go into effect beginning with the 2002-03 preseason.

"As we saw last season, last-second plays sometimes occur in which it is impossible for a human being to determine whether the play took place before time expired,” said Stu Jackson, NBA Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations. "In those circumstances, the game officials will now have the use of instant replay to assist them in making the correct call.”

The league’s Competition Committee met in Chicago last month and voted to recommend the use of instant replay to the Board of Governors. A formal recommendation was presented to the Board last week for its approval.

Instant replay reviews will be conducted and processed in two minutes or less by the game officials. The call made during play will only be reversed when the replay provides the officials with a “clear and conclusive” basis to do so.

Instant replay review will be triggered automatically – and not at the discretion of the officials or teams – in the following situations:

FIELD-GOAL ATTEMPTS

  • A field goal that could affect the outcome of the game is made with no time remaining on the clock (0:00) at the end of the fourth quarter or any overtime period.
  • A field goal is made with no time remaining on the clock (0:00) at the end of the first, second and third quarters.

    Once replay is triggered in either of these two situations, the officials will review instant replay to determine whether time on the game clock had expired before the ball left the shooter’s hand. If the shot was timely, the officials may also review tape to determine if the field goal was scored correctly as a two-point or three-point basket, whether the shooter committed a boundary line violation when he released the ball and whether a 24-second clock or 8-second backcourt violation occurred before the shot.

    FOULS

  • A foul for which the resulting free throws could affect the outcome of the game is called with no time remaining on the clock (0:00) at the end of the fourth quarter or any overtime period.
  • A foul is called with no time remaining on the clock (0:00) at the end of the first, second and third quarters.

    In these situations, officials will review instant replay to determine only whether the called foul occurred prior to the expiration of time on the game clock and not whether the call itself was correct.