What Is an And-One in Basketball?

An and-one in basketball is when a player is fouled while shooting, makes the basket anyway, and earns one free throw on top of the made shot. The name is literal, the basket counts “and one” free throw, so a made two-pointer through contact becomes a possible three-point play.

It is one of the best things that can happen to an offense: instead of a foul stopping the play, the team keeps its points and gets a free shot at more. Here is exactly how the and-one works, what happens on the floor, and where the odd little name comes from.

How an and-one happens

Three things have to line up for an and-one:

1. A shooter is fouled in the act of shooting. The defender makes illegal contact while the offensive player is going up for the shot.
2. The basket goes in anyway. The shooter finishes through the contact.
3. The referee rules the basket good and calls the foul. Play stops, and the shooter is awarded exactly one free throw.

Because the shot counted, the offense already has its two (or three) points. The bonus free throw is the “and one.” Make it, and a two-point make becomes three points, a three-point play; a three-point make becomes four points, the rarer four-point play.

What happens on the court

Once the referee signals the and-one, the sequence is the same as any other free throw. The clock stops, players line up along the lane, and the fouled shooter takes a single attempt. If the free throw is made, the possession is over and the defense takes the ball out. If it is missed, the ball is live and both teams can rebound, exactly like a normal missed free throw. The made field goal is never taken away; even a missed bonus free throw leaves the original basket on the scoreboard.

The defender who committed the foul is charged with a personal foul, which matters over a game because accumulating fouls leads to bench time and, for a team, to the bonus. For how team fouls trigger extra free throws, our explainer on the wider foul system connects to fundamentals like the technical foul, a different category of foul with its own free-throw rules.

Why the and-one is so valuable

The and-one is prized because it flips the purpose of a foul. Normally a defender fouls to prevent an easy basket; an and-one means the defender failed and handed over a chance at even more points. A single possession can swing by three or four points, and it carries a psychological edge too, the crowd erupts, the shooter often celebrates, and the fouling defender is left having given up the worst possible outcome.

Made shot	Bonus free throw	Total if made	Common name
2-point field goal	1	3 points	Three-point play
3-point field goal	1	4 points	Four-point play
Missed shot, fouled	2 or 3	n/a (no and-one)	Regular shooting foul

Note the bottom row: if the shot misses on a shooting foul, there is no and-one at all. Instead the player simply shoots free throws for the value of the attempt (two from inside the arc, three from beyond it). The and-one is specifically the reward for finishing the basket despite the contact.

And-one vs a regular shooting foul

This is the distinction that trips up new fans. Any foul during a shot is a shooting foul, but the outcome depends on whether the shot goes in:

• Shot misses, foul called: no basket, and the shooter gets free throws equal to the shot’s value (two or three).
• Shot made, foul called: the basket counts, and the shooter gets exactly one bonus free throw, the and-one.

So every and-one is a shooting foul, but not every shooting foul is an and-one. The difference is simply whether the ball went through the net.

Where the name comes from

The phrase is as plain as it sounds. The player scores the basket, “and one” free throw follows. Announcers shout “and one!” the moment a shooter finishes through contact, because it signals that valuable three- or four-point play is on the table. Over time the phrase became the standard name for the whole sequence, and it even lent itself to a famous streetball brand built around highlight finishes.

Understanding the and-one also sharpens how you read the rest of the game’s contact and scoring rules, from what happens when a defender interferes with the ball on goaltending in basketball to the clock rules that shape late-game fouling in our shot clock explainer.

The short version: an and-one is a made basket plus one bonus free throw awarded because the shooter was fouled in the act of shooting. Sink the free throw and a two becomes a three-point play, or a three becomes a four-point play. It only exists when a foul is called and the shot goes in, which is exactly why it is one of the most valuable, and most celebrated, outcomes in basketball.