If a player is running and bouncing, is he allowed to catch the ball - for simplicity let's assume that he has both feet in the air through all the time interval whose beggining is marked by start of the catching and whose end is marked by the completion of gaining control of the ball - can he take two steps (by this I mean land with his foot A on the ground, and then - without moving the foot A - land with his foot B on the ground, effectively setting both feet on the ground) and then just stand like it, without releasing the ball at all?
The official FIBA rules, https://www.fiba.basketball/documents/official-basketball-rules.pdf, reads as follows:
"A player who catches the ball while he is progressing, or upon completion of a dribble, may take two steps in coming to a stop, passing or shooting the ball"
which almost explicitly says that what I described is legal. Yet, I ask this question because I've always been taught that after taking two steps as described above, the rules impose that it is necessary to pass or shoot. So, I'm interested if:
1) it used to be that releasing the ball was necessary under FIBA rules, but after the changes of travelling rules so they would be more similar to NBA, holding the ball (after two steps) became legal,
2) it was always legal and the enforcement of releasing the ball under FIBA rules was just a commonly taught misinterpretation,
3) in fact "coming to a stop" here is to be understood in some peculiar way and after taking two steps a player is still obliged to release the ball.
Also, I'd be grateful for answering the above questions in the NBA case, I know that the article concerning travel is largely (or completely) the same as in the FIBA case:
https://official.nba.com/rule-no-10-violations-and-penalties/ "A player who receives the ball while he is progressing or upon completion of a dribble, may take two steps in coming to a stop, passing or shooting the ball."
but I'm not sure if I understand everything correctly, perhaps the accepted interpretation of these rules is peculiar.
Also, if stop (after two steps) is legal, then what are options for a player remaining in such a stop? Basing on my reading of rules, I'd suppose that a player can pivot with the foot A; lift the feet B; jump and release the ball with two feet. But I'd like to be sure.