Basketball

Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world, fast action from side to side of the court, physical display and last-minute annotations are some of the attractions to watch this famous sport.

Related topics

Handball, water polo

What is basketball?

Basketball is a very famous sport, which consists of scoring points by throwing a ball with your hands through the basket of the opposing team suspended at each end of the court.

About basketball

It consists of a confrontation between 5 players on each side in a covered court. The game consists of scoring points by throwing a ball with your hands through the basket of the opposing team suspended at each end of the court. The team that makes the most baskets, either by converting shots from the field or from the free throw zone, wins the match.

Basketball characteristics

The main characteristics of basketball are:

• Teamwork
• Speed
• Physical
• Accuracy

Who invented it?

It was invented by James Naismith, a professor of American physical education at YMCA University in Springfield Massachusetts in 1891. The idea arose while looking for a sport that could be done in a closed environment such as the gym during the winter.

Naismith wanted to create a sport of physical contact similar to soccer or rugby but requiring greater dexterity. By placing a couple of baskets of peaches that were hung on each side of the track was how the name of one of the greatest sports in history was born.

Naismith also designed some basic rules for the newly created basketball and the teams consisted of 9 players on each side. Subsequently, metal hoops with bottomless nets, boards and a smaller number of players were introduced, shaping the sport as it is known today.

How to play basketball

• Duration of a match: 4 quarters of 10 minutes according to the FIBA and 12 minutes in the NBA. If the match ends with a tie between the two teams, five-minute extensions must be played until one team wins.
• Players: The team has five starting players, seven substitutes, forming a total of 12 players. There is no limit to the number of changes.
• Start of the match: it starts when the referee throws the ball upwards from the center of the circle and two players from each team jump vertically to try to deflect the ball to a team-mate.
• Referees: Vary between 2 or 3 depending on the league.
• Scorer’s table: The scorer’s table is responsible for monitoring all incidents in the game.

Fundamentals

• Ball Handling.
• Displacement.
• Pivot.
• Defense.
• Dribble.
• Rebound.
• Pass.

Rules

The rules of basketball are:

• The ball is played with the hands. But if the ball is touched accidentally with the leg or fist no penalty will be imposed.
• You can’t go forward without bouncing the ball. Only swinging is allowed.
• No attacker may stay more than three seconds in the opponent’s zone (under the basket and inside the triple line).
• Within five seconds, each player in possession of the ball must pass, throw into the basket or bounce.
• Each team has 8 seconds to pass the ball to the opponent’s court after a service from the bottom.
• Each team has 24 seconds to play and throw a basket.
• Each coach can give instructions to his players using time-outs. These have a duration of one minute.
• If a player touches another player’s arm or hand, pushes him, or prevents him from moving, he will be punished with a personal foul. With 5 personal fouls a player must leave the game.
• A technical foul applies when a player, coach or team member performs an unsporting action.
• Free throws are taken from the line 5.8 m from the basket. They are performed when a team commits more than 4 fouls in a quarter, or the foul is committed in an action in which the opponent is shooting at the basket.

Positions

• Base: is in charge of leading the ball to the offensive sector and arming the plays.
• Escort: they are usually lower players than the rest of the team that coordinates the attacks with the base.
• Eaves: balances speed, strength and height. It is in charge of breaking the opposing defenses.
• Wing-Pivot: they work together with the pivot in defensive phase. It is in charge of stopping the internal game of the rival team and supporting with shots and rebounds.
• Pivot: they possess a great height and powerful physical that they must impose in the court, they are in charge of giving plugs, collecting rebounds. In offensive phase they try to score points under the hoop.

Categories

There are multiple age categories, highlighting: fry, cadet, junior, senior, university and professional.

Competitions

Some outstanding basketball competitions are:

• NBA
• European Basketball Cup
• World Championship of Basketball Clubs
• Basketball at the Olympic Games
• South American Championship of Champions Clubs
• FIBA Euro Cup
• ACB
• King’s Cup

Basketball techniques

There are two types of techniques, offensive and defensive.

Offensive Techniques

Offensive position without ball

• Walking
• Career
• Stops
• Turns

Two-handed passes

• Chest
• Chop on the floor
• Above the head
• From below
• One-handed ball passes

Shoulder Pass

• Chopped
• From below
• Baseball
• Hook
• Hidden passes

Dribble: Ball dribble is a technical offensive mode by which the player is allowed to move around the field of play.

• Position Dribble
• Dribble in motion with low rebound
• Dribble with change of direction
• Hoop Shooting

Shooting at the moving hoop

• Shooting at the hoop with a moving hand after reception
• Shooting at the hoop in suspension
• Free throw

Defensive techniques

Defensive displacements

• Low defensive position
• Average defensive position
• High defensive position.
• Mixed defensive position

Technique of the seizure of the ball and opposition

• Removing the ball
• Starting the ball
• Intercepting the ball
• Covering the ball
• Deflecting the ball
• Defensive rebound

Court

The measure of the international courts consists of a standardized measure of 28 by 15 meters. Meanwhile, in the NBA (National Basketball Association) the courts have measures of 29 by 15 meters.

On the other hand, the net located in the hoop should be about 3.05 meters from the ground.

Equipment

The equipment of a basketball player consists of:

• Sleeveless T-shirt
• Shorts or shorts
• Shoes with a design suitable for quick braking.
• Socks: generally, cotton and with a height of approximately 10 cm.

Famous basketball players

• Lebron James
• Michael Jordan
• Dwight Howard
• Yao Ming
• Pau Gasol
• Tony Parker
• Manu Ginóbili
• Magic Johnson
• Larry Bird
• Karrem Abdul-Jabbar
• Shaquille O’Neal
• Kobe Bryant
• Tim Duncan
• Carl Malone
• Tracy McGrady
• Glen Robinson

Curiosities

• The first basketball game took place in 1981.
• The board was added to prevent the shots from going so far away from the court.
• Women’s basketball was created in 1892.
• It became an Olympic sport in Berlin 1936.
• For a while, hoop dumps were illegal.
• The basketball was originally brown.
• The NBA was founded when three other associations were combined in 1949.
• Until 1929 it was played with a football.
• Michael Jordan is considered the best player in history after his successful stint in the Chicago Bulls.