BASKETBALL

● INTRODUCTION
Objective

Basketball is a team sport in which two team compete with each other with the primary
objective to make a goal and score points. A goal is made by shooting the ball through the
basket or hoop. The goal post or basket for a team is in the opponent’s court. Each team should
not only try to make a goal and prevent the opposite team from taking control of the ball, but
should also try to protect the basket in their court and prevent the opponent from making a
goal.

History

Basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith in 1891

to engage players in an indoor sport during winters
that keeps them fit. He designed a sport loosely based
on his childhood game Duck on a Rock where players
have to hit a stone, called a duck in the game. The
duck was protected by other players and placed high
on a rock.

He also wanted the game to be safer and so the sport

was played with soccer balls and peach baskets
placed at about 10 feet high, involved less physical
contact, drew players attention on the ball and not on other players. He developed a set of
thirteen rules and the first match was held on December 21st, 1891 among two teams of nine
players each at Springfield College.

The rules of the game were changed slightly and many more rules were added to make it better
and more interesting with time. The actual game did not allow dribbling, used closed baskets
and was played in a smaller court. The game was initially played in YMCA gyms. YMCA helped
spreading the game to other parts of America and the game increased YMCA memberships
too. It was popularized by cable televisions and spread to other parts of the globe by North
American soldiers fighting in World War I.
● PLAYING ENVIRONMENT
Basketball – Team Size

Each team may have twelve players entitled to play the game. Five players from a team can
play at any time in the court and they may be substituted at anytime during the play. Each
team may have a coach and an assistant coach. Each team may have a group of less than
five non-players with different responsibilities. They are usually manager, doctor, physiotherapist,
statistician, and interpreter.

Court Design
A standard international basketball court is an indoor, rectangular court with dimensions 50 feet
× 94 feet.
Courts at schools may be smaller. The court is divided into two symmetrical halves, one for each
team. Various markings are painted on the court. There’s a circle at the center, free throw semi
circles, restricted areas and three-point lines are marked on either side of the court. A no charge
semi circular area is marked just below the basket.
● EQUIPMENTS
Basketball is a simple game, it doesn’t require any equipment other than a
hoop, a ball and a flat court.

Basket
A hoop or basket with net around its circumference and of 18 inch diameter is
firmly hung horizontally from a rectangular backboard of 3.5 feet
height and 6 feet width on either sides of the court. The rim of the hoop
is 10 feet above the ground. The backboard in various international
competitions is transparent for better visibility.

Ball

Basketball is an orange-colored and rough-textured spherical ball with

black contours usually made of leather or composite tough materials.
The ball is bounced continuously (dribbling), thrown through the air to
other players (passing), and towards the basket (shooting). So a typical
basketball must be very durable and easy to hold on to.

● COMMON TERMS
● Offending team – The team possessing the ball is the offending team.

● Defending team – The team that doesn’t possess the ball and tries to get control of it is the
defending team.

● Shot clock – Shot clock indicates the amount of time allotted to an offending team to
make a goal. If the team cannot make a goal it is a shot clock violation and the ball is given
to the opposite team to inbound it. The clock usually is set for 24 seconds in FIBA and NBA
matches. The clock is set back to the full limit, when the ball touches the basket or passes
through the basket. In some cases, after a foul the shot clock is usually set to a lower number,
14 in NBA and FINA matches.

● Key – The painted area of 16 feet wide in professional basketball courts.

● The basket ball gun – This ball gun shoots the basketball back to the player. It is used while
training.
 ● Dunk shot – A player takes a dunk shot when he/she jumps and pushes the ball through the
basket.

● Free throw – When a player is granted a free throw he/she can try to make a goal from 15
feet without any obstruction from the opposing team. Free throws are also granted to
opposing team when a player makes technical fouls.

● Penalty situation – A team falls in penalty situation if it commits five fouls in one quarter.
Penalty situation grants free throws for the opposing team after a foul.

● Held ball – Sometimes a player is surrounded by too many opponents that he cannot pass
the ball to any of his teammates. He holds the ball tightly and sometimes even one of his
opponents might also hold the ball at the same time. To take control of the ball, one of them
should snatch it by force. This situation is called a held ball.

● Jump ball – A referee may call for a jump ball to deal with a held ball situation and bring
the ball back into play. The referee also starts the game with a jump ball. A ball is thrown
vertically in the air between two opponents. Any one among them pushes it to a teammate.

● Point guard, Shooting guard, Small forward, Power forward, Center – These are various
positions of team members. It is not necessary for them to take a particular position, and a
team may choose to discard team positions. It is sometimes used to attract attention and to
satisfy viewers.

● HOW TO PLAY
● The ball is tossed in the air to start the game. One of the players deflects it to a teammate. It
is dribbled and passed among the teammates to protect the ball and to make a goal. The
basket or the hoop is placed horizontally at the height of 10 feet on a back board. Each
team tries to protect the goal on their side while trying to make a goal on the opponent’s
side of the court.

● The opposite team tries to get the ball, take control of it while bouncing and tries to grab it
while it is passed among the team mates to prevent a goal. When a player commits a foul,
the other team gets a chance of free throw or to inbound the ball. Each goal carries two
points and each free throw one point. The team with higher score wins the game. Players
may be substituted when a substitute asks for it.
 ● The game starts when the referee throws a jump ball. In the international sport, each game is
divided into four 10 minute periods. However, if there’s a tie between the teams they play for
an extra period of 5 minutes.

● After the first period and after the third period, the players take a 2 minute break. After the
second period the players take a 15 minute break and exchange baskets. After a break, the
last player holding the ball throws the ball in and starts the next period. The play time may
also be increased if a foul is committed just before the time ticks off. In such cases a free
throw is granted despite the time lapse.

● RULES OF THE GAME

Though basketball was invented with a set of thirteen rules, some rules were amended and
many rules were added to help players play faster and make the game more interesting for the
viewers.

● Any player possessing the ball cannot stay inside the foul ring of the court with his back
to the basket for more than three seconds

● No player should touch the ball, basket or its rim while the ball is passing through the
basket.

● Players are allowed to make a brief contact with an opposing player trying to pass the
ball or make a goal, but cannot obstruct them.

● Players making more than five fouls are removed from the game.

● Fouls as per the situation, grant free throws to the opposing team and the ball is handed
over to them.
● Players cannot carry the ball with them and walk or run. This is called travelling.

● When a player is surrounded by opponents, within one meter radius, trying to get hold of
the ball, he/she cannot have the ball for more than five seconds. Such player is
considered to be close guarded.

● Players of the team possessing the ball shouldn’t stay in the restricted area of the
opponent’s team for more than three seconds.

● They should shoot the ball before the shot clock clicks.
 A player should not:
● Throw the ball away out of the court boundaries.
● Step on a foul line while free throwing the ball.
● Step on the end or side line while passing the ball to a teammate.
● Kick the ball.
● Dribble or hit the ball with their fist.
● Double dribble the ball.
● Hold the ball and stay in the backcourt that contains their basket for more than 8
seconds, else the team responsible should bear a foul.

Regulating bodies
FIBA – Fédération Internationale de Basketball Amateur (FIBA) is the international regulating
body of basketball. It governs rules, appoints referees for international tournaments and
conducts world cups every four years for both men and women. It is based in Geneva.

NBA – A tutorial on basketball cannot be complete without mentioning NBA, the most important
basketball league based in North America. NBA organizes league championships and is a
member of USA Basketball association. Its players are highly paid and they also play for other
teams outside the US. Attracted by the huge talent in the US and high remunerations, many
international players also play in NBA league matches. NBA formulates rules for its matches that
may be slightly different from the ones stated by FIBA.

● TOURNAMENTS
Coach Forrest C. (Phog) Allen led a movement to include basketball in the Olympics in 1936.
Basketball is widely played across the world. About 215 various national basketball organizations
are members of FIBA. Many of these federations organize basketball championships and the
winners take part in international events.

Some of the popular international championships are listed below:

● FIBA Basketball World Cup

● FIBA women’s World Championship

● NCAA women’s Championship

● NCAA men’s Championship

● WNBA Championship

● NBA Championship

● FIBA Asia Championship

 Participating countries

As basketball originated in the United States, it is very popular in the country and has spread to
other surrounding countries. NBA should be credited for expanding the game and creating a
huge fan base throughout the world.
China dominates Asian Basketball Championships and has won many titles. Basketball is the
most popular sport in Philippines. Iran, South Korea and Japan are also good competitors to
China in FIBA Asia Championships. Russia defeated United States at 1972 Summer Olympics and
caught the world’s attention.
Some of the countries that produced basketball champions are: Greece, Lithuania, Serbia,
Spain, France, Canada, USA, Brazil, Italy, Argentina, and Montenegro.

● CHAMPIONS
Bob Cousy
Bob Cousy nicknamed ‘Houdini of the Hardwood’ is an American professional basketball player
and is considered one of the greatest ball-handling guards. He was a member of the American
professional basketball team of Boston, Boston Celtics from 1950-1963. He also coached at the
Boston College from 1963 to 69.

Bill Russell
He helped United States win a gold at the 1956 Olympics games held in
Melbourne. He also played for Boston Celtics and is the first African
American basketball icon. The period he played in the NBA
championships, from 1957 to 1969, is usually identified as ‘The Russell era’.

Larry Bird
Bird, described as ‘Hick from French Lick’, played 13 seasons as a part of
the NBA team Boston Celtics and is a great shooter. He was a member of
the US men’s basketball team, the Dream Team, that won an Olympics
gold at Barcelona in 1992.

Michael Jordan
Michael Jordon, nicknamed Air Jordan, is popular for his exceptional
acrobatic ability to leap higher. He was widely considered as the best
basketball player of all time. He is good at shooting, passing, and also
defending the ball. He helped the US Olympic team win gold medals at
Barcelona and Spain in 1984 and 1992.