BASKETBALL

Listen basketball info basketball history basketball rules basketball playing regulations.

Basketball is a handball game usually played by two teams of five players. A basketball is a spherical object that rolls and bounces. The objective is to get the ball through a hoop mounted high on a backboard at back end. It is a very popular sport worldwide, played with a round and usually orange ball that bounces. Basketball players mainly use skills such as dribbling, shooting, running, and jumping.

The game is played between men's teams or between women's teams. Basketball has been played in the Summer Olympic Games since 1936. The shot clock rule started in 1954. The first basketball game took place in 1892, where the court was half the size of what it is today.In 1891 the game was invented by Jim Naismith.

History

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 20-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, outside where the first game was held. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is also in Springfield.

Since the rules hadn't been formally written, there was no maximum number of players then, unlike today. This also meant that there were no set rules to the game; Naismith only observed and changed the rules accordingly.

Rules

Basketball stadium in Malaysia.

The aim of basketball is to score more points than the other team, by shooting the ball in the basket. 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

The court, where the game is played, is a rectangle, and at both end lines there is a goal called a "hoop" in the shape of a circle basket with the bottom cut out.

In each game of basketball these things are required:

Basketball

Basketball court

Basketball hoop and backboard

Teams

Basketball is played with two teams, with 5 players from each team on the court at one time. 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 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 into the court. The player that went into the game is now playing and the player that was playing is sitting on the bench.

Playing regulations

A game of basketball is made up of four different quarters, each ten (or in the National Basketball Association, 12) minutes long. In the NCAA, or National Collegiate Athletic Association[1], there are 2, 20 minute halves. 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.