If a foul is blatant (excessive contact when not attempting to play the ball) are called unsportsmanlike fouls or, in the case of the NBA, flagrant fouls. These carry harsher penalties and, in rare cases, will have the offending player ejected from the game. Repeated fouls can lead to disqualification.

Each team is given a limit to the number of fouls allowed during a set period of the game (a quarter or a half). If the team surpasses this number, then for the rest of that period, regardless as to whether a fouled player was attempting to shoot the ball or not, the opposing team is awarded one or two free throws for all fouls. If a single player commits five fouls in a single game (or six, in the NBA rule book), including technical fouls, he is referred to as having "fouled out" and is not allowed to participate for the rest of the game.

Though hockey is one of the most well known sports for players committing fouls and resorting to violence (mostly due to the high energy, consistent play causing large build up of tension), basketball, with many of the same issues, is another sport where fights are quite likely to occur.