In basketball, a technical foul (also informally known as a "T" or a "Tech") is any infraction of the rules penalized as a foul which does not involve physical contact during the course of play between players on the court, or is a foul by a non-player. The most common technical foul is for unsportsmanlike conduct. Technical fouls can be assessed against players, bench personnel, or even the entire team. They (along with their penalties) are more serious than a personal foul, but not as serious as a flagrant foul.

Technical fouls are handled slightly differently under international rules than under the rules used by the various competitions in the United States. First, illegal contact between players on the court is always a personal foul under international rules, whereas in the USA, such contact is (with some exceptions) a technical foul (rather than a personal foul) when the game clock is not running and/or when the ball is dead. Second, in FIBA play, players foul out after five total fouls, both technical and personal. The latter rule is similar to those in use in college, high school, and middle school basketball in the United States. However, in the NBA and WNBA, players are allowed six personal fouls before being disqualified, and technical fouls assessed against them do not count toward this total. However, unsportsmanlike technicals in the NBA carry a fine, its severity depending on the number of technicals the player has already obtained, and players are suspended for varying amounts of time after accumulating fifteen technicals in the regular season or seven in the playoffs.

Kevin Wayne Durant (born September 29, 1988) is an American professional basketball forward with the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A 6'9" small forward, Durant was the consensus 2007 National College Player of the Year and the 2006–2007 Big 12 Player of the Year, amongst other awards. After a standout freshman season at the University of Texas, Durant opted to enter the NBA Draft, where he was selected second overall by the Seattle SuperSonics. There he went on to win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award after his debut season. In 2007, Durant signed an endorsement contract with Nike. In the 2009–10 season Durant led the NBA in scoring and became the youngest player ever to win the NBA scoring title. He would later be named to the 2010 All NBA First Team.

Mark Few (born December 27, 1962) is an American college basketball coach, currently the head coach at Gonzaga University. He has served on Gonzaga's coaching staff since 1989, and has been a constant on the sidelines throughout a period that has seen the Bulldogs rise from mid-major obscurity to regular participants in the NCAA tournament.

Few was born in Creswell, Oregon, the son of a Presbyterian pastor, and was a star point guard at Creswell High School, graduating in 1981. He originally attended Linfield College, hoping to play basketball and baseball, but he was troubled by the aftereffects of a dislocated shoulder he suffered while playing football as a senior at Creswell. He then transferred to the University of Oregon, hoping to play baseball there, but the Ducks had dropped their varsity baseball program by the time he arrived in Eugene. He graduated from Oregon with a B.S. in physical education in 1987.

Few entered the coaching profession even before receiving his degree, serving as an unpaid part-time assistant at his alma mater of Creswell High School starting in 1983, and advancing to a paid position from 1986 to 1988. During this time, he also worked at Oregon's summer basketball camps. After a season as an assistant at another Oregon school, Sheldon High School in Eugene, he moved to Spokane, Washington, joining the Gonzaga staff as a graduate assistant in 1989. He had some familiarity with the program, as he had befriended Dan Monson, then a Gonzaga assistant and later the head coach, during his time working the Oregon basketball camps. In 1990, he was promoted to a full-time assistant.

Ken Mauer Jr. (born April 23, 1955 in St. Paul, Minnesota) is a professional basketball official in the National Basketball Association (NBA) since the 1986–87 NBA season. As of the beginning of the 2006–07 NBA season, Mauer has officiated in 1,167 regular season and 67 playoff games, including one NBA Finals game. (In 2008, Mauer officiated an additional 2 NBA Finals games). Mauer wears uniform number 41.

Mauer attended Harding Senior High School in St. Paul and later attended and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1977. At Minnesota, Mauer played baseball and was named an All-Big Ten player. Mauer comes from a family heavily involved in athletics. Ken's cousin is Minnesota Twins Catcher, Joe Mauer. Ken's father and four brothers were all referees, including his brother Tom Mauer, a referee in the Women's National Basketball Association. Outside of officiating, Mauer is a guest speaker at basketball camps and clinics and charitable and social groups. Mauer's hobbies include cars, art, theater, movies, and traveling.

LeBron Raymone James (/ləˈbrɒn/; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he was a three-time "Mr. Basketball" of Ohio in high school, and was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while a sophomore at St. Vincent – St. Mary High School. He was selected with the number one pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Listed as a small forward, James has set numerous youngest player records since joining the league. He was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2003–04, was named the NBA Most Valuable Player in 2009, 2010, and 2012 and has been both an All-NBA selection and an All-Star every season since 2005. In 2010, a much-publicized free agency process ended with James signing with the Miami Heat.

James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to consecutive playoff appearances from 2006 through 2010. In 2007, the Cavaliers advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, but lost to the San Antonio Spurs. In 2011, James and the Miami Heat advanced to the NBA Finals but lost to the Dallas Mavericks. James has been a member of the USA national team, winning a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics and gold at the 2008 Olympics.