BASKETBALL

-VIDHI AGARWAL
 WHAT IS BASKETBALL?
• Basketball is a game played between two teams of five players each on a rectangular
court, usually indoors. Each team tries to score by tossing the ball through the opponent’s
goal, an elevated horizontal hoop and net called a basket.
• This game is played on a rectangular floor called the court, and there is a hoop at each
end. The court is divided into two main sections by the mid-court line.
 HISTORY OF BASKETBALL
• The game of basketball as it is known today was created by Dr. James Naismith in
December 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts, to condition young athletes during
cold months. Naismith was a physical education instructor at YMCA International
Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts.
•  It consisted of peach baskets and a soccer style ball. He published 13 rules for the
new game . Every time a point was scored, the game was halted so the janitor
could bring out a ladder and retrieve the ball.
• The first public basketball game was played in
Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 11, 1892.
• The game became established fairly quickly and grew very popular as the 20th century
progressed, first in America and then in other parts of the world. After basketball became
established in American colleges, the professional game followed. The America National
Basketball Association (NBA), established in 1946, grew to a multibillion-dollar enterprise
by the end of the century, and basketball became an integral part of American culture

• Since Naismith and five of his original players were Canadians, it is not surprising
that Canada was the first country outside the United States to play the game. Basketball was
introduced in France in 1893, in England in 1894, in Australia , China , and India soon
thereafter, and in Japan in 1900.
 EQUIPMENTS
• The standard American basketball court is in the shape of a rectangle 50 feet (15.2
metres) by 94 feet (28.7 metres)
• There are various markings on the court, including a centre circle, free throw lanes, and
a three-point line, that help regulate play.
• A goal, or basket, 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter is suspended from a backboard at each
end of the court. The metal rim of the basket is 10 feet (3 metres) above the floor.
•.
• In the professional game the backboard is a rectangle, 6 feet (1.8 metres) wide and 3.5
feet (1.1 metres) high, made of a transparent material, usually glass; it may be 4 feet
(1.2 metres) high in college.
• The spherical inflated ball measures 29.5 to 30 inches (74.9 to 76 cm) in
circumference and weighs 20 to 22 ounces (567 to 624 grams). Its covering is leather
or composition

Traditional New
Basketball Basketball
 BASIC RULES
• Basketball is a rough sport, although it is officially a noncontact game. A player may
pass or bounce (dribble) the ball to a position whereby he or a teammate may try for a
basket.
• A foul is committed whenever a player makes such contact with an opponent as to put
him at a disadvantage
• If a player is fouled while shooting and the shot is good, the basket counts and he is
awarded one free throw.
• If the shot misses, he gets a second free throw. If a foul is committed against a player
who is not shooting, then his team is awarded either the possession of the ball or a free
throw if the other team is in a penalty situation. 
• A team is in a penalty situation when it has been called for a set number of fouls in one
period (five in one quarter in professional and international play and seven in one half
in the college game).
•  In college basketball, penalty free throws are “one-and-one” in nature (consisting of
one free throw that, if made, is followed by a second) until the opposing team commits
a 10th foul in a half, creating a “double bonus” situation where all fouls automatically
result in two free throws.
• Infractions such as unsportsmanlike conduct or grasping the rim are technical fouls,
which award to the opposition a free throw and possession of the ball.
• Overly violent fouls are called flagrant fouls and also result in free throws and
possession for the opposition. Players are allowed a set number of personal fouls per
game (six in the NBA, five in most other competitions) and are removed from the game
when the foul limit is reached.