About basketball

Basketball is a game played by a team of ten, five on each side. It is mostly played indoors and the brain behind it is Dr. James Naismith who came up with it in 1891. It was supposed to be a solution for athletes who could not practice outside during winter. He was its first coach and he did sports physiology to be able to handle it better. It runs by a set of rules, which keep changing according to the demands of the game. It is a very fast game that requires agility to be able to score. It is among Americas most popular sports and commands a large following. It is governed by the National Basketball Association (NBA) body.

The facts about basketball state that the court must be 28M long and 15M wide. This applies for international games. For the NBA leagues, the court is normally 29m long and 15m wide. The goal post is 10 foot high and to score; one passes the ball through it. To play the game, the teams have to be organized in two opposing teams of five people each. Scores are the main objective and the opposing team has to place the ball in the opponents basket. It is also accompanied by dribbling which is followed by shooting the ball. Through dribbling, the player is able to move to a spot where he can make an attempt to score.

Another key fact about basketball is passing of the ball. As he dribbles, the player passes the ball among his teams mate to lessen the distance. To ensure that the play is fair, a set of rules have to be observed. Players are penalized for fouls and violations. Fouls refer to rough play that results into physical contact with another player. Violations refer to the fouls a player commits against another who was attempting to score. Some of the penalties include free throws. Internationally, basketball is played in 10-minute quarters. This however changes in the NBA leagues to 12 minutes. The players are positioned in the court according to their role. There is a point guard, a power forward, a shooting guard, a center, and a small forward.

There are some facts about basketball that are quite interesting. One of them is about the first ever basketball game to be played which happened on Jan 20, 1892. Nine players took up the challenge on a very small court as compared to todays standards. Basketball became so popular that many people ended up at the YMCA Training center to learn it. Its popularity spread across Canada and the United States. The first ever inter-college match was between University of Minnesota and Hamline University where the latter stole the show. Basketball was first played by women on March 21, 1893. This team was led by a Senda Berenson and she had to alter some of the rules to suit women players. Another interesting fact about basketball is that its governing body, National Basketball Association (NBA) was formed in 1946. The world known basketball legend is Michael Jordan. He has scored more than 5,987 goals and this record is yet to be broken.