 Chris Dudley (#22), playing for the New Jersey Nets, squares off with Michael Jordan (#23), of the Chicago Bulls on March 28, 1991. Other players including Chicago's Bill Cartwright (#24) are present on the court. | |
| Highest governing body | FIBA |
|---|---|
| First played | December 21, 1891. Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | Limited |
| Team members | 5 per side |
| Mixed-sex | Yes, separate competitions |
| Type | Indoor/Outdoor |
| Equipment | Basketball |
| Venue | Indoor court (mainly) or outdoor court (Streetball) |
| Glossary | Glossary of basketball |
| Presence | |
| Country or region | Worldwide |
| Olympic | Yes, demonstrated in the 1904 and 1924 Summer Olympics Part of the Summer Olympic program since 1936 |
| Paralympic | Yes |
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately 9.4 inches (24 cm) in diameter) through the defender's hoop (a basket 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter mounted 10 feet (3.048 m) high to a backboard at each end of the court), while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own hoop. 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. 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 (overtime) is mandated.
Players advance the ball by bouncing it while walking or running (dribbling) or by passing it to a teammate, both of which require considerable skill. On offense, players may use a variety of shots – the layup, 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 five players on each side fall into five playing positions. 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 implement the coach's game plan by managing the execution of offensive and defensive plays (player positioning). Informally, players may play three-on-three, two-on-two, and one-on-one.
Invented in 1891 by Canadian-American gym teacher James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts, in the United States, basketball has evolved to become one of the world's most popular and widely viewed sports.[1][2] The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the most significant professional basketball league in the world in terms of popularity, salaries, talent, and level of competition[3][4] (drawing most of its talent from U.S. college basketball). 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. Each continent hosts regional competitions for national teams, like EuroBasket and FIBA AmeriCup.
The FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup and Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament feature top national teams from continental championships. The main North American league is the WNBA (NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship is also popular), whereas the strongest European clubs participate in the EuroLeague Women.
- ^ Griffiths, Sian (September 20, 2010). "The Canadian who invented basketball". BBC News. Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
- ^ Maria (January 3, 2023). "Ranking The Top 10 Most Popular Sports In The World in 2023". Sports Virsa. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023.
- ^ Jessop, Alicia (June 14, 2012). "The Surge of the NBA's International Viewership and Popularity". Forbes. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
- ^ Harris, Nick (May 1, 2012). "REVEALED: The world's best paid teams, Man City close in on Barca and Real Madrid". Sporting Intelligence. Archived from the original on June 16, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2012.