Basketball

LeBron James (far right) attempts a layup shot against the Nets

Highest governing bo FIBA
dy

First played December 21, 1891; 128 years

ago. Springfield, Massachusetts,
U.S.

Characteristics

Contact Limited-contact

Team members 5 per side

Mixed gender Yes, separate competitions

Type Indoor/Outdoor

Equipment Basketball

Venue Indoor court (mainly) or outdoor

court (Streetball)
 Glossary Glossary of basketball

Presence

Country or region Worldwide

Olympic Yes, demonstrated in the 1904 and

1924 Summer Olympics
Part of the Summer Olympic
program since 1936

Paralympic Yes

Basketball, colloquially referred to as hoops,[1] is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly
of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary
objective of shootinga basketball (approximately 9.4 inches (24 cm) in diameter) through the
defender's hoop (a basket 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter mounted 10 feet (3.048 m) high to
a backboard at each end of the court) while preventing the opposing team from shooting through
their own hoop. A field goal is worth two points, unless made from behind the three-point line, when
it is worth three. After a foul, timed play stops and the player fouled or designated to shoot a
technical foul is given one or more one-point free throws. The team with the most points at the end
of the game wins, but if regulation play expires with the score tied, an additional period of play
(overtime) is mandated.
Players advance the ball by bouncing it while walking or running (dribbling) or by passing it to a
teammate, both of which require considerable skill. On offense, players may use a variety of shots—
the lay-up, the jump shot, or a dunk; on defense, they may steal the ball from a dribbler, intercept
passes, or block shots; either offense or defense may collect a rebound, that is, a missed shot that
bounces from rim or backboard. It is a violation to lift or drag one's pivot foot without dribbling the
ball, to carry it, or to hold the ball with both hands then resume dribbling.
The five players on each side fall into five playing positions. The tallest player is usually the center,
the second tallest and strongest is the power forward, a slightly shorter but more agile player is
the small forward, and the shortest players or the best ball handlers are the shooting guard and
the point guard, who implements the coach's game plan by managing the execution of offensive and
defensive plays (player positioning). Informally, players may play three-on-three, two-on-two, and
one-on-one.
Invented in 1891 by Canadian-American gym teacher James Naismith in Springfield,
Massachusetts, United States, basketball has evolved to become one of the world's most popular
and widely viewed sports.[2] The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the most
significant professional basketballleague in the world in terms of popularity, salaries, talent, and level
of competition.[3][4] Outside North America, the top clubs from national leagues qualify to continental
championships such as the EuroLeague and the Basketball Champions League Americas. The FIBA
Basketball World Cup and Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament are the major international events
of the sport and attract top national teams from around the world. Each continent hosts regional
competitions for national teams, like EuroBasket and FIBA AmeriCup.
The FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup and Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament feature top
national teams from continental championships. The main North American league is
 the WNBA (NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship is also popular), whereas strongest
European clubs participate in the EuroLeague Women.

Contents

 1History
o 1.1Creation
o 1.2College basketball
o 1.3High school basketball
o 1.4Professional basketball
o 1.5International basketball
o 1.6Women's basketball
 2Rules and regulations
o 2.1Playing regulations
o 2.2Equipment
o 2.3Violations
o 2.4Fouls
 3Common techniques and practices
o 3.1Positions
o 3.2Strategy
o 3.3Shooting
o 3.4Rebounding
o 3.5Passing
o 3.6Dribbling
o 3.7Blocking
 4Height
 5Variations and similar games
o 5.1Half-court
o 5.2Other variations
 6Social forms of basketball
o 6.1Recreational basketball
o 6.2Disabled basketball
o 6.3Show basketball
o 6.4Other forms
 7Fantasy basketball
 8See also
 9Notes
 10References
 11Further reading
 12External links

History
Main article: History of basketball
Creation
Dr. James Naismith, inventor of the sport of basketball

The first basketball court: Springfield College

In early December 1891, CanadianJames Naismith,[5] a physical education professor and instructor
at the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School [6] (YMCA) (today, Springfield
College) in Springfield, Massachusetts, was trying to keep his gym class active on a rainy day. He
sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied and at proper levels of fitness during
the long New England winters. After rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to
walled-in gymnasiums, he wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto an elevated track. In
contrast with modern basketball nets, this peach basket retained its bottom, and balls had to be
retrieved manually after each "basket" or point scored; this proved inefficient, however, so the
bottom of the basket was removed, allowing the balls to be poked out with a long dowel each time.
Old style basketball with laces
Basketball was originally played with a soccer ball. These round balls from "association football"
were made, at the time, with a set of laces to close off the hole needed for inserting the inflatable
bladder after the other sewn-together segments of the ball's cover had been flipped outside-in. [7]
[8]
 These laces could cause bounce passes and dribbling to be unpredictable. [9] Eventually a lace-free
ball construction method was invented, and this change to the game was endorsed by Naismith.
(Whereas in American football, the lace construction proved to be advantageous for gripping and
remains to this day.) The first balls made specifically for basketball were brown, and it was only in
the late 1950s that Tony Hinkle, searching for a ball that would be more visible to players and
spectators alike, introduced the orange ball that is now in common use. Dribbling was not part of the
original game except for the "bounce pass" to teammates. Passing the ball was the primary means
of ball movement. Dribbling was eventually introduced but limited by the asymmetric shape of early
balls.[dubious  –  discuss] Dribbling was common by 1896, with a rule against the double dribble by 1898. [10]
The peach baskets were used until 1906 when they were finally replaced by metal hoops with
backboards. A further change was soon made, so the ball merely passed through. Whenever a
person got the ball in the basket, his team would gain a point. Whichever team got the most points
won the game.[11] The baskets were originally nailed to the mezzanine balcony of the playing court,
but this proved impractical when spectators in the balcony began to interfere with shots. The
backboard was introduced to prevent this interference; it had the additional effect of allowing
rebound shots.[12]Naismith's handwritten diaries, discovered by his granddaughter in early 2006,
indicate that he was nervous about the new game he had invented, which incorporated rules from a
children's game called duck on a rock, as many had failed before it.
Frank Mahan, one of the players from the original first game, approached Naismith after the
Christmas break, in early 1892, asking him what he intended to call his new game. Naismith replied
that he hadn't thought of it because he had been focused on just getting the game started. Mahan
suggested that it be called "Naismith ball", at which he laughed, saying that a name like that would
kill any game. Mahan then said, "Why not call it basketball?" Naismith replied, "We have a basket
and a ball, and it seems to me that would be a good name for it."[13][14] The first official game was
played in the YMCA gymnasium in Albany, New York, on January 20, 1892, with nine players. The
game ended at 1–0; the shot was made from 25 feet (7.6 m), on a court just half the size of a
present-day Streetball or National Basketball Association (NBA) court.
At the time, football was being played with 10 to a team (which was increased to 11). When winter
weather got too icy to play football, teams were taken indoors, and it was convenient to have them
split in half and play basketball with five on each side. By 1897–1898 teams of five became
standard.