It happens almost every NBA game, stirring frustration in players and groans from fans: the dreaded late foul call, otherwise known as a conditional foul. A referee appears to wait to see if a shot goes in before blowing the whistle. If the shot falls, play on. If it misses, the official belatedly awards free throws. “I mean, you see it, you see it a lot,” LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonard said during the regular season. “I think they want to, you know, keep the game going on. So if a guy makes a shot, they keep it going instead of stopping it and giving him free throws. Or they are just seeing it late. That’s what I think it is.” -via New York Times / June 11, 2024
