There is nothing as effective as blocking a shot, if you want to devastate the other team mentally. Preventing that carefully prepared scoring opportunity can really help to demoralize the other team, as well as keep the score on your side. Knowing what constitutes a legal block is important, since you don’t want to have gone to the effort of trying to block, only to incur a foul.

Various sports have different rules for blocking shots legally. In basketball, you need to make sure that you do not touch the opposing player. This is obvious but there are many other chances that your actions can earn a foul or be disqualified. You want to make sure that you do not touch the net or the rim either. This can lead to a penalty if you are hit with goaltending or interference. You also need to prevent your arm from coming down during the block since this is also not permitted in basketball.