Basketball (The Office)

"Basketball"
The Office episode
Michael Scott in the warehouse, wearing his special basketball uniform holding a ball.
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 5
Directed by	Greg Daniels
Written by	Greg Daniels
Cinematography by	Randall Einhorn
Editing by	Dave Rogers
Production code	1005[1]
Original air date	April 19, 2005 (2005-04-19)
Guest appearances
David Denman as Roy Anderson Craig Robinson as Darryl Philbin Patrice O'Neal as Lonny Collins
Episode chronology
← Previous "The Alliance" Next → "Hot Girl"
The Office (American season 1)
List of episodes

"Basketball" is the fifth and penultimate episode of the first season of the American comedy television series The Office. The episode aired on NBC in the United States on April 19, 2005. The episode was written and directed by producer Greg Daniels, marking both his first solo writing credit and first directing credit for the series. This episode also marks the first appearance of comedian Patrice O'Neal.

In this episode, Michael Scott (played by Steve Carell) and the office staff take on the workers in the warehouse in a basketball game. The episode was inspired by a deleted scene from the first episode where Michael talks about a pick-up basketball game. For two days, the cast of The Office played actual basketball games, which were then spliced together to give the effect of one continuous game. Several lines from the episode became fans and cast favorites. "Basketball" was viewed by an estimated 5.0 million viewers and received a 2.4/6% rating share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. The episode received positive reviews from critics.