Basketball
Basketball (commonly nicknamed "B-ball" or
"hoops") is a
team sport in which two teams of five players
try to score points by throwing or "
shooting"
a
ball through the top of a basketball hoop while
following a set of
rules. Basketball is one of the world's most
popular and widely viewed sports.
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A regulation basketball hoop consists of a rim 18 inches in diameter and 10
feet high mounted to a
backboard. A team can score a field goal
by shooting the ball through the hoop during regular play. A
field goal scores two points for the
shooting team if a player is touching or closer to the hoop than the
three-point
line, and three points (a "3 pointer") if the player is
"outside" the three-point line. The team with more points at the end
of the game wins, but additional time (overtime) may be issued when the game
ends with a tie. The ball can be advanced on the court by bouncing it while
walking or running (
dribbling) or passing it to a teammate. It is a violation (
traveling) to walk with the ball,
carry it, or to
double
dribble (to hold the ball and then resume dribbling).
Various
violations are generally called "fouls". Disruptive
physical contact (a
personal foul) is penalized, and a
free throw
is usually awarded to an offensive player if he is fouled while shooting the
ball. A
technical foul may also be issued when certain
infractions occur, most commonly for
unsportsmanlike conduct on the part of a
player or
coach. A technical foul gives the opposing team
a free throw.
Basketball has evolved many commonly used techniques of shooting, passing,
and dribbling, as well as specialized
player positions and offensive and defensive
structures (player positioning) and techniques. Typically, the tallest members
of a team will play
"center", "
small forward",
or "
power forward" positions, while
shorter players or those who possess the best ball handling skills and speed
play "
point guard" or "
shooting
guard".
While competitive basketball is carefully regulated, numerous
variations of basketball have developed for
casual play. Competitive basketball is primarily an indoor sport played on
carefully marked and maintained
basketball
courts, but less regulated variations are often played outdoors in
both inner city and rural areas
History
Creation
In early December 1891, Dr.
James
Naismith,
a physical education professor and instructor
at the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School (YMCA)
(today,
Springfield College) in
Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 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 a
10-foot (3.05 m) 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.
Basketball was originally played with an
association football. 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. Dribbling only
became a major part of the game around the 1950s, as manufacturing improved the
ball shape.
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.
The baskets were originally nailed to the mezzanine balcony of the playing
court, but this proved impractical when spectators on the balcony began to
interfere with shots. The backboard was introduced to prevent this
interference; it had the additional effect of allowing rebound shots.
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. Naismith called the new
game "Basket Ball". 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. By 1897–1898 teams of five became standard.
Professional basketball
Teams abounded throughout the 1920s.
There were hundreds of men's professional basketball teams in towns and
cities all over the United States, and little organization of the professional
game. Players jumped from team to team and teams played in armories and smoky
dance halls. Leagues came and went. Barnstorming squads such as the Original
Celtics and two all-African American teams, the New York Renaissance Five
("Rens") and (still in existence as of 2010) the Harlem Globetrotters played up to two
hundred games a year on their national tours.
In 1946, the Basketball Association of America
(BAA) was formed. The first game was played in Toronto,
Ontario, Canada between the Toronto
Huskies and New York Knickerbockers on November 1, 1946.
Three seasons later, in 1949, the BAA merged with the National Basketball League
to form the National Basketball Association
(NBA). By the 1950s, basketball had become a major college sport, thus paving
the way for a growth of interest in professional basketball. In 1959, a basketball hall of fame
was founded in Springfield, Massachusetts, site of the
first game. Its rosters include the names of great players, coaches, referees
and people who have contributed significantly to the development of the game.
The hall of fame has people who have accomplished many goals in their career in
basketball. An upstart organization, the American Basketball Association,
emerged in 1967 and briefly threatened the NBA's dominance until the ABA-NBA
merger in 1976. Today the NBA is the top professional basketball
league in the world in terms of popularity, salaries, talent, and level of
competition.
The NBA has featured many famous
players, including George Mikan, the first dominating "big
man"; ball-handling wizard Bob Cousy and defensive genius Bill Russell
of the Boston Celtics; Wilt
Chamberlain, who originally played for the barnstorming Harlem Globetrotters; all-around stars Oscar
Robertson and Jerry West; more recent big men Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille
O'Neal and Karl Malone; playmaker John Stockton;
crowd-pleasing forward Julius Erving; European stars Dirk Nowitzki
and Dražen Petrović and the three players who many
credit with ushering the professional game to its highest level of popularity: Larry Bird,
Earvin
"Magic" Johnson, and Michael Jordan.
In 2001, the NBA formed a developmental league, the NBDL. As of 2008, the league has 16 teams
International basketball
The International Basketball Federation
was formed in 1932 by eight founding nations: Argentina, Czechoslovakia,
Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Romania and Switzerland. At this time, the
organization only oversaw amateur players. Its acronym, derived from the French
Fédération Internationale de
Basketball Amateur, was thus "FIBA". Men's
Basketball was first included at the Berlin 1936 Summer Olympics, although a
demonstration tournament was held in 1904. The United States defeated Canada in
the first final, played outdoors. This competition has usually been dominated
by the United States, whose team has won all but three titles, the first loss
in a controversial final game in Munich in 1972 against the Soviet
Union. In 1950 the first FIBA World Championship for men was held
in Argentina. Three years later, the first FIBA World Championship for Women
was held in Chile.
Women's basketball was added to the Olympics in 1976, which were held in Montreal,
Canada with teams such as the Soviet Union,
Brazil and Australia rivaling the American squads.
FIBA dropped the
distinction between amateur and professional players in 1989, and in 1992,
professional players played for the first time in the Olympic Games. The United
States' dominance continued with the introduction of their Dream Team.
However, with developing programs elsewhere, other national teams started to
beat the United States. A team made entirely of NBA players finished sixth in
the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis,
behind Yugoslavia, Argentina, Germany, New Zealand and Spain. In the 2004 Athens Olympics, the United States
suffered its first Olympic loss while using professional players, falling to Puerto Rico (in a 19-point
loss) and Lithuania in group games,
and being eliminated in the semifinals by Argentina. It eventually
won the bronze medal defeating Lithuania, finishing behind Argentina and Italy. In 2006, in the
World Championship of Japan, the United States advanced to the semifinals but
were defeated by Greece by 101–95. In the
bronze medal game it beat team Argentina and finished 3rd
behind Greece and Spain. After the disappointments of 2002 through 2006, the
U.S. regrouped, reestablishing themselves as the dominant international team
behind the "Redeem
Team", which won gold at the 2008 Olympics, and the
so-called "B-Team", which won gold at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey
despite featuring no players from the 2008 squad.
The all-tournament teams at the 2002 and 2006 FIBA World Championships, respectively
held in Indianapolis and Japan, demonstrate the globalization of the game
equally dramatically. Only one member of either team was American, namely Carmelo
Anthony in 2006. The 2002 team featured Nowitzki, Ginobili, Yao, Peja Stojakovic of Yugoslavia (now of Serbia), and Pero Cameron
of New Zealand. Ginobili also made the 2006 team; the other members were
Anthony, Gasol, his Spanish teammate Jorge
Garbajosa and Theodoros Papaloukas of Greece. The only players
on either team to never have joined the NBA are Cameron and Papaloukas. The
all-tournament team from the 2010 edition in Turkey featured four NBA
players—MVP Kevin Durant of Team USA and the Oklahoma City Thunder, Linas Kleiza
of Lithuania and the Toronto
Raptors, Luis Scola of Argentina and the Houston
Rockets, and Hedo Türkoğlu of Turkey and the Phoenix Suns.
The only non-NBA player was Serbia's Miloš Teodosić. The strength of international
Basketball is evident in the fact that Team USA won none of the three world
championships held between 1998 and 2006, with Serbia (then known as
Yugoslavia) winning in 1998 and 2002 and Spain in 2006.
Worldwide, basketball tournaments are
held for boys and girls of all age levels. The global popularity of the sport
is reflected in the nationalities represented in the NBA. Players from all six
inhabited continents currently play in the NBA. Top international players began
coming into the NBA in the mid 1990's, including Croatians Dražen Petrović and Toni Kukoč,
Serbian Vlade Divac,
Lithuanians Arvydas Sabonis and Šarūnas Marčiulionis and German Detlef
Schrempf. John Hollinger of ESPN has analyzed foreign
players' performance in the NBA and his research suggests that players moving
from the Euroleague to the NBA experience, on average, a 25 per cent drop in
scoring rate, an increase of 18% in their rebound rate, a 31% increase in their
assist rate, a drop of 12 per cent in shooting percentage and a 30 per cent
drop in Player Efficiency Rating.[18]
In the Philippines, the Philippine Basketball Association's
first game was played on April 9, 1975 at the Araneta
Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City. Philippines. It was founded as a
"rebellion" of several teams from the now-defunct Manila Industrial
and Commercial Athletic Association which was tightly controlled by the
Basketball Association of the Philippines (now defunct), the then-FIBA recognized
national association. Nine teams from the MICAA participated in the league's
first season that opened on April 9, 1975. The NBL is Australia's
pre-eminent men's professional basketball league. The league commenced in 1979,
playing a winter season (April–September) and did so until the completion of
the 20th season in 1998. The 1998/99 season, which
commenced only months later, was the first season after the shift to the
current summer season format (October–April). This shift was an attempt to
avoid competing directly against Australia's various football codes. It
features 8 teams from around Australia and one in New Zealand. A few players
including Luc Longley,
Andrew Gaze,
Shane Heal,
Chris Anstey
and Andrew Bogut
made it big internationally, becoming poster figures for the sport in
Australia. The Women's National Basketball League
began in 1981.
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Rules and regulations
Measurements and time limits discussed
in this section often vary among tournaments and organizations; international
and NBA rules are used in this section.
The object of the game is to outscore
one's opponents by throwing the ball through the opponents' basket from above
while preventing the opponents from doing so on their own. An attempt to score
in this way is called a shot. A successful shot is worth two points, or three points if it is taken from beyond
the three-point arc which is 6.25 metres (20 ft 6 in) from the
basket in international games and 23 feet 9 inches (7.24 m) in
NBA games. A one-point shot can be earned when shooting from the foul line
after a foul is made.
Playing
regulations
Games are played in four quarters of
10 (FIBA) or 12 minutes (NBA).
College games use two 20-minute halves, while high school varsity games use 8
minute quarters. 15 minutes are allowed for a half-time break under FIBA, NBA,
and NCAA rules and 10 minutes in high school. Overtime periods are five minutes in length
except for high school which is four minutes in length. Teams exchange baskets
for the second half. The time allowed is actual playing time; the clock is
stopped while the play is not active. Therefore, games generally take much
longer to complete than the allotted game time, typically about two hours.
Five players from each team may be on
the court at one time. Substitutions are unlimited but can only
be done when play is stopped. Teams also have a coach, who oversees the
development and strategies of the team, and other team personnel such as assistant
coaches, managers, statisticians, doctors and trainers.
For both men's and women's teams, a
standard uniform consists of a pair of shorts and a jersey with a clearly visible number, unique
within the team, printed on both the front and back. Players wear high-top
sneakers that provide extra ankle support. Typically, team names, players'
names and, outside of North America, sponsors are printed on the uniforms.
A limited number of time-outs, clock
stoppages requested by a coach (or sometimes mandated in the NBA) for a short
meeting with the players, are allowed. They generally last no longer than one
minute (100 seconds in the NBA) unless, for televised games, a commercial break
is needed.
The game is controlled by the officials consisting of the referee
(referred to as crew chief in the NBA), one or two umpires (referred to as
referees in the NBA) and the table officials. For college, the NBA, and many
high schools, there are a total of three referees on the court. The table
officials are responsible for keeping track of each teams scoring, timekeeping,
individual and team fouls, player substitutions, team possession
arrow, and the shot clock.
Equipment
The only essential
equipment in a basketball game is the basketball and the court: a flat,
rectangular surface with baskets at opposite ends. Competitive levels require
the use of more equipment such as clocks, score sheets, scoreboard(s),
alternating possession arrows, and whistle-operated stop-clock systems.
A regulation basketball
court in international games is 91.9 feet long and 49.2 feet wide.
In the NBA
and NCAA
the court is 94 feet by 50 feet. Most courts have wood flooring,
usually constructed from maple planks running in the same direction as the longer court
dimension. The name and logo of the home team is usually painted on or around
the center circle.
The basket is a steel rim 18 inches
diameter with an attached net affixed to a backboard that measures 6 feet by
3.5 feet and one basket is at each end of the court. The white outlined box on
the backboard is 18 inches high and 2 feet wide. At almost all levels of
competition, the top of the rim is exactly 10 feet above the court and 4 feet
inside the baseline. While variation is possible in the dimensions of the court
and backboard, it is considered important for the basket to be of the correct
height – a rim that is off by just a few inches can have an adverse effect on
shooting.
The size of the basketball is also
regulated. For men, the official ball is 29.5 inches in circumference (size 7,
or a "295 ball") and weighs 22 oz. If women are playing, the official
basketball size is 28.5 inches in circumference (size 6, or a "285
ball") with a weight of 20 oz.
Violations
The ball may be advanced toward the
basket by being shot, passed between players, thrown, tapped, rolled or
dribbled (bouncing the ball while running).
The ball must stay within the court;
the last team to touch the ball before it travels out of bounds forfeits
possession. The ball is out of bounds if touches or crosses over a boundary
line, or touches a player who is out of bounds. This is in contrast to other
sports such as football, volleyball, and tennis (but not rugby
or American football) where the ball (or player)
is still considered in if any part of it is touching a boundary line.
The ball-handler may not move both
feet without dribbling, an infraction known as traveling, nor may he dribble with both
hands or catch the ball in between dribbles, a violation called double
dribbling. A player's hand cannot be under the ball while dribbling;
doing so is known as carrying the ball. A team, once having
established ball control in the front half of the court, may not return the
ball to the backcourt and be the first to touch it. The ball may not be kicked,
nor be struck with the fist. A violation of these rules results in loss of
possession, or, if committed by the defense, a reset of the shot clock
(with some exceptions in the NBA).
There are limits imposed on the time
taken before progressing the ball past halfway (8 seconds in FIBA and the NBA;
10 seconds in NCAA men's play and high school for both sexes, but no limit in
NCAA women's play), before attempting a shot (24 seconds in FIBA and the NBA,
30 seconds in NCAA women's and Canadian Interuniversity Sport
play for both sexes, and 35 seconds in NCAA men's play), holding the ball while
closely guarded (5 seconds), and remaining in the restricted area below the
foul line (the lane, or "key") (3 seconds). These rules are
designed to promote more offense.
No player may touch the ball on its
downward flight to the basket, unless the ball has no chance of entering the
basket (goaltending). In addition, no player may touch the ball while it is on
or in the basket; when any part of the ball is in the cylinder above the basket
(the area extended upwards from the basket); or when the ball is outside the
cylinder, if the player reaches through the basket and touches it. This
violation is known as "basket interference". If a defensive player
goaltends or commits basket interference, the basket is awarded and the
offending team gets the ball. If a teammate of the shooter goaltends or commits
interference, the basket is cancelled and play continues with the defensive
team being given possession.
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| An outdoor basketball net. |
Fouls
An attempt to unfairly disadvantage an
opponent through physical contact is illegal and is called a foul. These are
most commonly committed by defensive players; however, they can be committed by
offensive players as well. Players who are fouled either receive the ball to
pass inbounds again, or receive one or more free throws
if they are fouled in the act of shooting, depending on whether the shot was
successful. One point is awarded for making a free throw, which is attempted
from a line 15 feet (4.6 m) from the basket.
The referee may use discretion in
calling fouls (for example, by considering whether an unfair advantage was
gained), sometimes making fouls controversial calls or no-calls. The calling of
fouls can vary between games, leagues and even among referees.
A player or coach who shows poor
sportsmanship, such as by arguing with a referee or by fighting with another
player, can be charged with a more serious foul called a technical
foul. The penalty involves free throws (where, unlike a personal
foul, the other team can choose any player to shoot) and varies among leagues.
Repeated incidents can result in disqualification. Blatant fouls with excessive
contact or that are not an attempt to play the ball are called intentional
fouls (or flagrant fouls in the NBA). In FIBA, a foul resulting in ejection is
called a disqualifying foul, while in leagues other than the NBA, such a foul
is referred to as flagrant.
If a team exceeds a certain limit of
team fouls in a given period (quarter or half) – four for NBA and international
games – the opposing team is awarded one or two free throws on all subsequent
non-shooting fouls for that period, the number depending on the league. In the
US college and high school games, if a team reaches 7 fouls in a half, the
opposing team is awarded one free throw, along with a second shot if the first
is made. This is called shooting "one-and-one". If a team exceeds 10
fouls in the half, the opposing team is awarded two free throws on all subsequent
fouls for the half.
When a team shoots foul shots, the
opponents may not interfere with the shooter, nor may they try to regain
possession until the last or potentially last free throw is in the air.
After a team has committed a specified
number of fouls, it is said to be "in the penalty". On scoreboards,
this is usually signified with an indicator light reading "Bonus" or
"Penalty" with an illuminated directional arrow indicating that team
is to receive free throws when fouled by the opposing team. (Some scoreboards
also indicate the number of fouls committed.)
If a team misses the first shot of a
two-shot situation, the opposing team must wait for the completion of the
second shot before attempting to reclaim possession of the ball and continuing
play.
If a player is fouled while attempting
a shot and the shot is unsuccessful, the player is awarded a number of free
throws equal to the value of the attempted shot. A player fouled while
attempting a regular two-point shot, then, receives two shots. A player fouled
while attempting a three-point shot, on the other hand, receives three shots.
If a player is fouled while attempting
a shot and the shot is successful, typically the player will be awarded one
additional free throw for one point. In combination with a regular shot, this
is called a "three-point play" or "four-point play" (or
more colloquially, an "and one") because of the basket made at the
time of the foul (2 or 3 points) and the additional free throw (1 point).
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| The referee signals that a foul has been committed. |
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