 The key , officially referred to as the free throw lane by the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) , the restricted area by the international governing body FIBA , and colloquially as the lane or the paint , is an area on a basketball court underneath the basket bounded by the <unk> , the foul line and other lines which are known as <unk> lines , that are usually painted ( although <unk> on some courts with painted <unk> ) . It is a critical area on the court where much of the action takes place in a game . 
