Did you know that more adults play basketball than any other sport and at last count, in 1998, there were more than 450 million players worldwide? No? Well, neither did we until we read it on the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) website. FIBA (from the French, Fédération Internationale de Basketball) is basketball’s governing body and it’s their job is to promote the game worldwide. They do a fine job – their website is fun and informative – but we would argue that if shopping was counted as a sport its participation rates would leave basketball’s in the shade. Still, that’s an argument for another day. Today’s job is to teach you the basics of basketball.
Lesson One: Basketball, ducks and peaches
What do these three things have in common?
The answer is Dr James A. Naismith, a Canadian-born Physical Education teacher who, in 1891, while working at the YMCA International Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts, was asked to make a game that would not take up much room, was not too rough, and at the same time, could be played indoors. Inspired by a game he played as a child in Canada called “Duck on a Rock”, Naismith’s game had thirteen rules, a peach basket nailed to either end of the school’s gymnasium, and two teams of nine players.
He called the game “basketball” and the rest is history.
Lesson Two: The Rules
Basketball is not much different today to the game Dr Naismuth invented in 1891. Hoops and nets have replaced peach buckets, and five players, not nine, make up a team – but 12 of Dr Naismith’s 13 original rules are still used today.
There are two teams in a game of basketball and the aim of each team is to score in the opposing team’s basket. Players will try to prevent the other team from getting the ball or scoring, by keeping the ball within their team and defending their own basket.
Two terms you will hear often in basketball are “travelling” and “double dribbling”. These terms do not refer to a long car trip with a toddler in the back seat. Rather, they refer to two basketball “no nos”: “travelling” is when a player takes more than two steps without bouncing the ball on the floor, and the deliciously named “double dribble” is when a player bounces the ball, stops, and then bounces the ball again.
Lesson Three: Scoring
A goal is scored when a player throws the ball into the basket of the opposing team. Most goals are worth two points, however, a goal shot from the three-point arc will score three points.
Because basketball is a fast and free-flowing sport high scoring from both teams is common. It’s not unusual to have a scorecard that reads 101-99, for example. Indeed, because scores are often so close throughout the game, a classic criticism made against basketball is that only the last two minutes of the game really matter because that’s when the game is actually decided.
Hmmm, sounds a lot like every sport we’ve ever watched.
Lesson Four: Basketball down under
Forgive the pun, but professional basketball in Australia has had its ups and downs. Its heyday was in the 1980s and early ’90s, but since then it’s failed to grab the public imagination. Still, the quality of competition in the men’s National Basketball League (NBL) is fantastic and some of Australia’s top players end up playing in the U.S. – basketball’s spiritual home. The 2007/08 NBL season begins on September 19 and this year Queensland will field four teams: the Brisbane Bullets (the current NBL champions), Townsville Crocodiles, Cairns Taipans and, in their inaugural year, the Gold Coast Blaze.
Take a look at our major sports guide for details of upcoming NBL games, plus lots more news and sporting facts.
