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Basketball is a very popular sport worldwide, played with a round, orange ball that bounces. The sport was created in Springfield, Massachusetts, by a professor named Dr. James Naismith in the year 1891.
Basketball is now the second most popular sport in the world. Women's basketball is also a popular sport, even though it does not receive nearly as much attention as men's basketball. Basketball has been played in the Summer Olympic Games since 1936.
History[change | edit source]
In early December 1891, James Naismith, a Canadian physical education teacher at Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts invented an indoor game called basketball. He invented the sport to keep his students from becoming bored during the winter.Naismith wrote the basic rules and then nailed a peach basket onto a 10-foot tall pole. Unlike modern basketball hoops, the bottom of the peach-basket was still there, so after a point was scored, somebody had to get the ball out of the basket with a long stick. Over time, people made a hole at the bottom of the basket so the ball could go through more easily.
The score of the first game of basketball ever played was 1 - 0. There is a sculpture in Springfield, where the first game was played. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is also in Springfield.
Rules and the game[change | edit source]
The aim of basketball is to score more points than your opponents. Baskets can be worth 1, 2, or 3 points. You get points by shooting the ball into the opponents' basket. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
Equipment[change | edit source]
The court, where the game is played, is a rectangle shape, and at both endlines there is a goal called a "hoop" in the shape of a circular basket with the bottom cut out.
In each game of basketball these things are required:
- Basketball court
- Basketball hoop and backboard
Teams[change | edit source]
Basketball is played with two teams, with 5 players from each team on the court at one time. The players that are not on the court can sit on the bench; the maximum number of players on the bench differs by league. In international play, a maximum of 7 players are allowed on the bench, resulting in a roster of 12 players. The NBA has 13-player rosters; college and high school teams usually have 15-player rosters. When a player wants to substitute for another player on the court they let the score bench know. The referees will signal for the player waiting to come onto the court. The player that went into the game is now playing and the player that was playing is sitting on the bench.
Each team is allowed to have a coach and can have an assistant coach if they want. On the bench with the substitutes, a team is allowed to have up to five team followers, such as a manager, a doctor and an interpreter.
Playing Regulations[change | edit source]
A game of basketball is made up of four quarters, each ten (or in the National Basketball Association 12,) minutes long. At the start of every game the referee throws the basketball up in the air, and one player from each team tries to hit it to their teammates, that is called a "jump ball."
At the start of each quarter the team who has the possession arrow pointing towards their hoop gets the ball. Then the arrow is switched, and the next team gets the ball next quarter.
After four quarters, the team who scores the most points wins. If the two teams score the same number of points, there is a five-minute "overtime" to see who can score more points. "Overtime" can be played over and over until one team finally scores more points.
While playing the game, players on one team try to stop players on the other team from scoring. Each normal score is worth two points; however, if a player throws the ball into the hoop from behind the large arced line on the court, called the "3-point line," the score is worth three points.
If you do something illegal in the game, it is called a "foul." If you foul someone on the other team while he is