Basketball

 

Basketball is a non contact team sport played on a on a rectangular court by two teams of five players each. The objective is to shoot a ball through a hoop 18 inches 46 cm in diameter and 10 feet 3.048 m high that is mounted to a backboard at each end of the court. The game was invented in 1891 by Dr. James Ne smith who would be the first basketball coach of the Kansas Jay hawks one of the most successful programs in the game's history.

A team can score a field goal by shooting the ball through the basket being defended by the opposition team during regular play. A field goal scores three points for the shooting team if the player shoots from behind the three-point line, and two points if shot from in front of the line. A team can also score via free throws which are worth one point, after the other team is assessed with certain fouls. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but additional time overtime is mandated when the score is tied at the end of regulation. The ball can be advanced on the court by passing it to a teammate, or by bouncing it while walking or running dribbling. 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 game has many individual techniques for displaying skill all-handling, shooting, passing, dribbling, dunking, shot blocking, and rebounding. Basketball teams generally have player positions the tallest and strongest members of a team are called a center or power forward while slightly shorter and more agile players are called small forward, and the shortest players or those who possess the best ball handling skills are called a point guard or shooting guard. The point guard directs the on court action of the team, implementing the coach's game plan, and managing the execution of offensive and defensive plays player positioning.

Basketball is one of the world's most popular and widely viewed sports. The National Basketball Association is the most popular and widely considered to be the highest level of professional basketball in the world and National Basketball Association players are the world's best paid athletes by average annual salary per player. Outside North America, the top clubs from national leagues qualify to continental championships such as the Euro league and FIBA Americas League. The FIBA Basketball World Cup attracts the top national teams from around the world. Each continent hosts regional competitions for national teams, like Euro Basket and FIBA Americas Championship.

The FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup features the top national women's basketball teams from continental championships. The main North American league is the woman National Basketball Association whereas the Euro League Women have been dominated by teams from the Russian Women's Basketball Premier League.