In basketball, is one allowed to purposefully get the ball out-of-bounds off an opponent?

Question

Imagine the scenario of "accidentally" dribbling the ball into an opponent's foot, and the ball gets kicked out of bounds. Or, in an even more extreme case, "passing" (or throwing) the ball out of bounds while barely grazing an opponent. In the most extreme case, I toss the ball into an opponent's head, and it flies out of bounds.

These could result in an out-of-bounds by the opposing team, allowing one to reset the shot clock, for example. Is there any rule in basketball (or the NBA) that prevents these kinds of schemes? Or are there any other factors that stop these kinds of schemes (e.g. they're not consistent, or audiences/sponsors might get angry)?

Answer 1

These could result in an out-of-bounds by the opposing team, allowing one to reset the shot clock, for example.

This is an incorrect assumption. The defensive team would have to gain possession to reset the shot clock. Deflecting the ball out-of-bounds would not do it. So the tactic is only useful in a case where you might otherwise lose possession (such as about to fall out of bounds). It is allowed, but you would lose time handling the ball and have to risk a throw-in.

Rule 7, Section IV, b

b. The shot clock is never reset on the following:

1. Defensive player is the last to touch the ball before going out-of-bounds....

Answer 2

Sure, there's no rule (see the rulebook) against throwing the ball at your opponent, and in falling-out-of-bounds situations it's not all that uncommon to see players try to toss the ball at their opponents' arms or legs if they don't have any other way of saving the ball. It's possible that this could be penalized under "unsportsmanlike conduct" if it were done in a malicious or dangerous way (your example of throwing at the player's head).

However, most of the time, throwing the ball at your opponent is called a turnover.