Basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court. Invented in 1891 by Canadian-American gym teacher James Naismith, basketball has evolved to become one of the world’s most popular and widely viewed sports. The National Basketball Association is the most significant professional basketball league in the world.

About Basketball in brief

Summary BasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court. 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. The National Basketball Association is the most significant professional basketball league in the world in terms of popularity, salaries, talent, and level of competition. 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. 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 is mandated. Players advance the ball by bouncing it while walking or running 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 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.

Basketball was originally played with a soccer ball. The first specifically made specifically for basketball were brown balls, 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 common use. Dribbling was not part of the original game except for the primary means of ball movement to pass the ball to teammates. The peach baskets were used by 1898 until 1906 when they were replaced by peach baskets until they were finally replaced in 1906. 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, two or three one-point free throws. In contrast with modern basketball nets, this peach basket retained its bottom, and balls had to be retrieved manually after each point scored; this proved inefficient, so the bottom of the basket was removed, allowing the balls to be poked out with a long dowel each time. 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.