Basketball

Basketball is a team sport played on a rectangular court, with two opposing sides of five players each. The main goal is to score by putting the ball through a hoop attached to a backboard at either end of the court. Teams switch between trying to score on offense and stopping the other team on defense. A basket made during play is worth two points, or three if it’s shot from beyond the three-point line. When a foul occurs, play stops, and the fouled team gets one to three free throws (each worth one point) or restarts with an inbound pass. The winner is the team with more points when time runs out. If the score is tied after regulation, most leagues add overtime periods until one team leads.

Players move the ball by dribbling (bouncing it while walking or running) or passing to a teammate, both of which demand skill. On offense, they can use shots like the layup, jump shot, or dunk. On defense, they can steal the ball from a dribbler, intercept passes, or block shots. Either side can grab a rebound from a missed shot that bounces off the rim or backboard. It’s a violation to lift or drag the pivot foot without dribbling, carry the ball, or stop dribbling and then start again.

Each team’s five players fill specific positions. The tallest is usually the center, while the second-tallest and strongest is the power forward. The small forward is shorter but very agile. The shortest players or best ball handlers are the shooting guard and point guard. These players follow the coach’s game plan by running offensive and defensive plays. Informally, games can be played three-on-three, two-on-two, or one-on-one.

Basketball was invented in 1891 by Canadian-American gym teacher James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts. It has grown into one of the world’s most popular and watched sports. The NBA is the top professional league globally in popularity, salaries, talent, and competition, drawing most players from U.S. college basketball. Outside North America, top clubs from national leagues compete in continental championships like the EuroLeague and Basketball Champions League Americas. Major international events include the FIBA Basketball World Cup and the Men’s Olympic Basketball Tournament, which attract top national teams. Each continent also runs regional competitions, such as EuroBasket and FIBA AmeriCup.

The FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup and women’s Olympic tournament feature leading national teams from continental championships. The main North American league is the WNBA, with the NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Championship also popular, while top European clubs play in the EuroLeague Women.

**History**

**Early history** A game similar to basketball appears in a 1591 book published in Frankfurt am Main, which describes the customs of coastal North American residents. It mentions a skill game where balls are thrown at a target woven from twigs, mounted high on a pole, with a small reward for hitting it.

**Creation** In December 1891, James Naismith, a Canadian-American physical education professor at the International YMCA Training School (now Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts, wanted to keep his gym class active on a rainy day. He needed a vigorous indoor game for the long New England winters. After rejecting other ideas as too rough or unsuitable for a gym, he invented a game where players pass a ball to teammates and score by tossing it into a basket on a wall. Naismith wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto an elevated track. The basket initially had its bottom intact, so the ball had to be retrieved manually after each score. That became tedious, so Naismith removed the bottom, allowing the ball to be poked out with a long dowel.

Soon after, Senda Berenson, a physical culture instructor at nearby Smith College, learned about the game from Naismith. Fascinated by its potential, she organized games with her students using adjusted rules. The first official women’s interinstitutional game took place barely 11 months later, between the University of California and Miss Head’s School. In 1899, a committee at the Conference of Physical Training in Springfield created general rules for women’s basketball. The sport quickly spread across American schools, colleges, and universities with uniform rules for both sexes.

Basketball was originally played with a soccer ball. These round balls had laces to close the hole used for inserting the inflatable bladder. The laces made bounce passes and dribbling unpredictable. Eventually, a lace-free ball construction method was invented, and Naismith endorsed this change.