Basketball is a team sport that requires considerable agility and endurance, as well as hand-eye coordination. It is a game of passing and dribbling the ball, shooting baskets, and collecting missed shots or rebounded passes. The rules are fixed, and there are limits imposed on the time taken before progressing past halfway with the ball (8 seconds in FIBA and NBA play for both sexes), before attempting a shot (24 seconds in FIBA, NBA, and U Sports (Canadian universities) play for both sexes), or holding the ball while closely guarded (5 seconds).
A basketball is an inflatable ball that contains an inner rubber bladder surrounded by layers of fabric or synthetic composite materials. It is laced at both ends and has a stitched surface that can be made from leather (traditional), rubber, or nylon. The stitching is usually a zigzag pattern, as it is important for maintaining the shape of the ball. The stitching also allows the ball to be gripped with one or both hands, which is useful in the fast pace of a game.
The most basic form of the game is two teams on opposite sides of a court, each with five players. There are often other variations, however, including games played with three or more teams on the same side of the court and games in which one team has fewer than five players on the field. Regardless of the number of teams, the goal is to score by throwing the ball through a basket attached to a hoop 10 feet/3 metres above the floor. The game was invented in 1891 by James Naismith, a Canadian physical instructor at the YMCA International Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts.
During the first games, the balls were not numbered, and the rules of the game varied from place to place. Over the years, the game has been refined and standardized by various committees. The rules of basketball are now generally accepted throughout the world.
Today, a game of basketball is usually divided into four quarters that are either eight or twelve minutes long. The team with the most points at the end of four quarters wins the game. If the teams are tied, overtime periods of varying lengths may be played until a winner emerges.
The most common way to score a point is to make a basket. The shooting player holds the ball in his dominant hand with fingers touching, and he extends the arm behind it, known as the follow through. This movement must be done quickly before the defensive player can reach the rim and intercept the ball, or the shot will not count. A player can also score by making a basket from any location within the area encircled by the 3-point line in their opponent’s half, earning their team three points. Other scoring options include free-throws, field goals, and a three-point play. Technical fouls are also part of the game, and they can be committed by players or coaches for offenses such as obscene language, excessive arguing, and filling in the scorebook improperly.