Basketball

Basketball was invented in December 1891 by Canadian James Naismith. He needed an indoor game to keep his students fit during the winter in New England where he taught. Naismith formulated 13 rules of the game, the majority of which still form the basics of the modern game of basketball. It is now both an Olympic and Pan American sport.

The game is played on a court 15 m x 28 m, with 45-cm diameter netted baskets at each end that are 3.05 metres off the ground. Playing five on five, the aim of each team is to score in the opponents’ basket and to prevent the opposing team from scoring. The game is divided into two 20-minute halfs and five-minute overtime periods if needed.

During regular play, a successful shot scores two points if it comes from within a 6.25 m radius of the basket and three points if the player is outside that radius. Foul shots, awarded when various infractions are committed, score one point each. Foul shots are free shots which are taken from the "foul line", 4.5 m in front of the basket.

Players advance the ball up the court either by passing to teammates or by dribbling. To keep the game moving quickly, each team is allowed 30 seconds in which to shoot the ball at the basket. If the ball goes out of bounds, the team whose player last touched the ball loses possession and the opposing team returns the ball to play from the point where it went out.

There are several rule differences in international basketball that should be noted by those used to watching NBA basketball including a 30-second shot clock, a wider key, a shorter three-point line and two timeouts per half.

Athletes

Comments (0)

You must be logged in to leave a comment.

Sign Up or Login