All who loves to play Basketball

People love playing sports as a form of physical activity and among these sports Basketball, is a favorite which is played and viewed sports worldwide. Basketball sport is played on a rectangular court by two teams of five members each. Player has to shoot a ball through a hoop attached to a backboard at two ends. The diameter of hoop is around 18 inches and is at 10 feet high. The spherical ball used for playing is called basketball and is of standard size of 29.5 to 29.875 inches in diameter. Mostly, all balls have an inflatable inner bladder and are finished with tough outer surface made up of usually leather, rubber or synthetic compound. There is a small opening in the inflatable balls that helps to decrease or increase pressure. Balls have their surface divided by ‘ribs’ and are usually of contrasting color. The traditional color scheme is brown surface with black ribs (as shown in the pic) but balls do come in various color combinations. Top manufactures of basketball are Spalding, molten, Wilson, Rawlings and Nike.

Objective of each team is to shoot the ball in their hand to their respective basket. A field goal is scored by the team putting a basket. The player has to dribble the ball along the court, ie bounce the ball while running or walking on the court or can pass it to his teammate. It is a foul in case he carries the ball, holds with both hands or lifts his pivotal leg while holding the ball. According to the place from where it is shot, player gets scores. That is if it is behind three point line, they get three points and if it is in front of that line then two points. If the opponent team makes a foul, a team gets to play free throws and scores one point in each successful throw.

The team with most number of scores at the end of playing time wins the game. If the scores are in tie, extra playing time is allotted to determine the winner. There are many techniques in handling the ball like shooting, dribbling, passing or rebounding and accordingly teams have specific players in offensive and offensive positions. Usually, the strongest and tallest person is the team is made the power forward or centre. The shorter players are called small forward and shortest players who handle ball with ease is called shooting guard or power guard.

History

Basketball is first believed to be played in December of 1891 as a result of idea by Canadian physical educator Dr. James Naismith at YMCA, Springfield, Massachusetts. He was trying to find a way to keep his students active in rainy days and devised a indoor game played by passing a ball and throwing into a hoop. Basketball was initially played with a soccer ball. Gradually the sports developed and the International Basketball federation was formed in 1932 and today NBA – National Basketball association is the top professional league for basketball. Women also actively play basketball and there are numerous professional matches held across the globe. Basketball is widely played game in united states of America.