The objective is to get the ball through a hoop mounted 10 feet high on a backboard at each end. It is a very popular sport, played with a round, orange ball that bounces.
It sounds easy, but is a lot more difficult in practice!
Invented in 1891 by Canadian-American gym teacher James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts, basketball has evolved to become one of the world's most popular and widely viewed sports.
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.
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 strongest Sports club. European clubs participate in the EuroLeague Women.
In the UK the British Basketball Federations governs the Great Britain national team and licences the professional British Basketball League and Women's British Basketball League.
Basketball England is the National Governing Body (NGB) for basketball in England and responsible for all aspects of the sport serving member clubs and players.
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court.
The primary objective is to shoot a basketball (approximately 9.4 inches or 24cm in diameter) through the defender's hoop (a basket 18 inches or 46cm) in diameter mounted 10 feet (3.048 m) high on 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 lay-up, 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.
