At some point in the Los Angeles Lakers game against the Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday night point guard Steve Nash, who had worn a suit for most of the game, went and changed into his game uniform.

Nash had not planned on playing; in fact he had just played for the first time in nearly three months on Tuesday. However, this was no ordinary situation that his team faced.

Going into Wednesday’s game the team only dressed eight players.

The eight-man roster took a hit during the game when guards Nick Young and Jordan Farmar got injured. The roster became even more depleted when center Chris Kaman fouled out, and then Robert Sacre fouled out.

Eight minus four is four, so the Lakers can only legally play with four right?

Wrong.

The law of the land, also known as the NBA rulebook, revealed one of its well hidden secrets.

Robert Sacre was allowed to remain in the game thanks to Rule No.3, Section I, Part A which states:

“Each team shall consist of five players. No team may be reduced to less than five players. If a player in the game receives his sixth personal foul and all substitutes have already been disqualified, said player shall remain in the game and shall be charged with a personal and team foul. A technical foul shall be assessed against his team. All players who have six or more personal fouls and remain in the game shall be treated similarly.”

Translation: If there are no other players to substitute in the game and a player picks up his sixth foul, that player can stay in but will be assessed a technical foul every time he fouls.

The Lakers went on to win the game 119-108.

The story made news for its uniqueness, but also because of the fact that a lot of players and coaches didn’t even know about this technicality.

Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni afterwards:

““That was, by far, one of the strangest games I’ve ever seen,” D’Antoni said. “I didn’t know about that rule, but it’s a nice rule.”

So, what else could legally happen in a game in the NBA, NFL, or MLB that would probably make us scratch our head?

This situation from NBA.com, don’t mind the outdated player references:

“In the second quarter of the Cavaliers game against the L.A. Clippers, LeBron James throws a pass to Damon Jones, who is standing near the sideline in front of the Clippers’ bench. The ball glances off Jones’ hand. As he is reaching for the ball, it hits Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy, who is standing on the sideline. Who gets possession?”

Answer:

“In this case, the Cavs get the ball. Cleveland is awarded possession at the free throw line extended since Jones would have recovered the ball if it had not touched coach Dunleavy. According to Rule 8, Section II, the Clippers interfered with a ball still in play. Additionally, Los Angeles is assessed a delay of game warning.”

It’s not just obscure rules that come into play; there are obscure privileges that teams seldom utilize, like the NFL’s “fair catch kick.”

According to NFL.com:

“After a fair catch, the receiving team has the option to put the ball in play by a snap or a fair catch kick (field goal attempt), with fair catch kick lines established ten yards apart. All general rules apply as for a field goal attempt from scrimmage. The clock starts when the ball is kicked. (No tee permitted.)”

While the “fair catch kick” is rarely used, it was actually used this year by the San Francisco 49ers.

As you can see in the video, hypelinked above, the “fair catch kick” is much different than a field goal, and you can see the confusion by everybody.

Don Mattingly found out about MLB Rule 8.06 in 2010 when he took a step off the pitcher’s mound after a visit, realized he forget to say something, stepped back on the mound, and was then forced to take his All-Star closer Jonathan Broxton out of the game.

The violation was only realized by San Francisco Giant manager Bruce Bochy who called Mattingly out to the umpires, and he was right.

Rule 8.06:

“Rule 8.06: “A manager or coach is considered to have concluded his visit to the mound when he leaves the 18-foot circle surrounding the pitcher’s rubber.”

Sports always has some hidden law, just waiting to reveal itself.

The more understanding one has of these laws, the more of an advantage they have and less of a chance of getting caught violating them.