The time line, in basketball, is a name for the center line that reflects the rule that the offensive team has a limited amount of time to advance the ball past this line, from the backcourt to the frontcourt, in a scoring drive.
The time line may have a name that reflects the amount of time, such as "10-second line" or "8-second line". Correspondingly, a violation of the rule may be called a 10-second violation or an 8-second violation.