Basketball is a team sport played by two teams of five players each. It is played on a rectangular court. The players try to score by shooting a ball through a hoop elevated 10 feet above the ground. This tutorial covers the very basics of how to play basketball.
Basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith in 1891 to engage players in an indoor sport during winters that keep them fit. He designed a sport loosely based on his childhood game Duck on a Rock where players have to hit a stone, called a duck in the game. The duck was protected by other players and placed high on a rock.
Basketball - Objective
The main objective of basketball is to make a goal and score points. A goal is made by shooting the ball through the basket or hoop. The goal post or basket for a team is in the opponent’s court. Each team should not only try to make a goal and prevent the opposite team from taking control of the ball but should also try to protect the basket in their court and prevent the opponent from making a goal.
Basketball - Team Size
Each team may have twelve players entitled to play the game. Five players from a team can play at any time in the court and they may be substituted at any time during the play. Each team may have a coach and an assistant coach. Each team may have a group of fewer than five non-players with different responsibilities. They are usually a manager, doctor, physiotherapist, statistician, and interpreter.
Playing Overview
There are many variants of basketball, some play indoors and some outdoors, some play on larger grounds, and some teams have more players. We can play the fun game on any flat surface but FIBA, the organizing body has laid down some guidelines for a basketball court.
Court Design
A standard international basketball court is an indoor, rectangular court with dimensions 50 feet × 94 feet.
Courts at schools may be smaller. The court is divided into two symmetrical halves, one for each team. Various markings are painted on the court. There’s a circle at the center, free throw semi-circles, restricted areas, and three-point lines are marked on either side of the court. A no charge semi-circular area is marked just below the basket.
Equipment
Basket
A hoop or basket with a net around its circumference and of 18-inch diameter is firmly hung horizontally from a rectangular backboard of 3.5 feet height and 6 feet width on either side of the court. The rim of the hoop is 10 feet above the ground. The backboard in various international competitions is transparent for better visibility.
Ball
Basketball is an orange-colored and rough-textured spherical ball with black contours usually made of leather or composite tough materials.
Terms
· Offending team − The team possessing the ball is the offending team.
· Defending team − The team that doesn’t possess the ball and tries to get control of it is the defending team.
· Shot clock − Shot clock indicates the amount of time allotted to an offending team to make a goal. If the team cannot make a goal it is a shot clock violation and the ball is given to the opposite team to inbound it. The clock usually is set for 24 seconds in FIBA and NBA matches. The clock is set back to the full limit when the ball touches the basket or passes through the basket. In some cases, after a foul, the shot clock is usually set to a lower number, 14 in NBA and FINA matches.
· Key − The painted area of 16 feet wide in professional basketball courts.
· The basketball gun − This ball gun shoots the basketball back to the player. It is used while training.
· Dunk shot − A player takes a dunk shot when he/she jumps and pushes the ball through the basket.
· Free throw − When a player is granted a free throw he/she can try to make a goal from 15 feet without any obstruction from the opposing team. Free throws are also granted to opposing team when a player makes technical fouls.
· Penalty situation − A team falls in penalty situation if it commits five fouls in one-quarter. Penalty situation grants free throws for the opposing team after a foul.
· Held ball − Sometimes a player is surrounded by too many opponents that he cannot pass the ball to any of his teammates. He holds the ball tightly and sometimes even one of his opponents might also hold the ball at the same time. To take control of the ball, one of them should snatch it by force. This situation is called a held ball.
· Jump ball − A referee may call for a jump ball to deal with a held ball situation and bring the ball back into play. The referee also starts the game with a jump ball. A ball is thrown vertically in the air between two opponents. Anyone among them pushes it to a teammate.
· Point guard, Shooting guard, Small forward, Power forward, Center − These are various positions of team members. It is not necessary for them to take a particular position, and a team may choose to discard team positions. It is sometimes used to attract attention and to satisfy viewers.
How to Play?
The ball is tossed in the air to start the game. One of the players deflects it to a teammate. It is dribbled and passed among the teammates to protect the ball and to make a goal. The basket or the hoop is placed horizontally at the height of 10 feet on a back board. Each team tries to protect the goal on their side while trying to make a goal on the opponent’s side of the court.
The opposite team tries to get the ball, take control of it while bouncing and tries to grab it while it is passed among the team mates to prevent a goal. When a player commits a foul, the other team gets a chance of free throw or to inbound the ball. Each goal carries two points and each free throw one point. The team with the higher score wins the game. Players may be substituted when a substitute asks for it.
Rules of the Game
· Any player possessing the ball cannot stay inside the foul ring of the court with his back to the basket for more than three seconds
· No player should touch the ball, basket or its rim while the ball is passing through the basket.
· Players are allowed to make a brief contact with an opposing player trying to pass the ball or make a goal, but cannot obstruct them.
· Players making more than five fouls are removed from the game.
· Fouls as per the situation, grant free throws to the opposing team and the ball is handed over to them.
· Players cannot carry the ball with them and walk or run. This is called traveling
· When a player is surrounded by opponents, within one-meter radius, trying to get hold of the ball, he/she cannot have the ball for more than five seconds. Such player is considered to be close guarded.
· Players of the team possessing the ball shouldn’t stay in the restricted area of the opponent’s team for more than three seconds.
· They should shoot the ball before the shot clock clicks.
Basketball - Tournaments
Coach Forrest C. (Phog) Allen led a movement to include basketball in the Olympics in 1936. Basketball is widely played across the world. About 215 various national basketball organizations are members of FIBA. Many of these federations organize basketball championships and the winners take part in international events.
Some of the popular international championships are listed below −
- FIBA Basketball World Cup
- FIBA women’s World Championship
- NCAA women’s Championship
- NCAA men’s Championship
- WNBA Championship
- NBA Championship
- FIBA Asia Championship
- NCAA − National Collegiate Athletic Association
- WNBA − Women's National Basketball Association
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