How Basketball Works

How Basketball Works Introduction Basketball is more than the slam-dunks shown on television sports shows. It is a sport of agility and endurance that develops hand-eye coordination among its participants. At its essence, basketball requires only a basket, a ball, and at least two players. The simplicity of the sport is credited to Dr. James Naismith, who invented basketball in 1891 by nailing two peach baskets to the balconies on opposite ends of a YMCA gym in Springfield, Massachusetts. Since then, basketball has overtaken baseball as the unofficial American pastime. In 2001, more than 28 million Americans participated in basketball, which is more than any other team sport, according to the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA). Internationally, more than 300 million people participate in basketball worldwide, according to the International Federation of Basketball (FIBA). In this article, you'll learn about the equipment used to play a basketball game, how players score points, and the rules that players must follow. You will also learn how to identify players by the position they play and the numbers they wear. Court and Equipment Basketball can be played anywhere as long as there is a hoop mounted to a pole or wall and a ball to shoot through it. The basic idea could hardly be simpler. The two teams want to do two things: Get the ball through the opposing team's basket as much as possible (offense) Stop the opposing team from doing the same thing (defense) As soon as one team has the ball, that team is the offense and the other team is the defense. The offense tries to position players to take a shot (throw the ball through the hoop). The defense players position themselves to block these shots. Offense players move around the basket and cut past defense players (abruptly changing direction to get past the defense) until they can set up a reasonably clear shot. The way all this plays out largely depends on the court. Dimensions of the court and other equipment vary depending on the level of play. For our purposes, we will look at the National Basketball Association's (NBA) regulation equipment.

How Basketball Works

Documents