Basketball is the only major sport that is completely American in origin. The inventor was James A. Naismith, a physical education instructor at the YMCA Training School in Springfield, Mass. Because there were 18 students in the calisthenics class for which he devised the game, he began play with two nine-man teams. They used a soccer ball for their first official game, played on Jan. 20, 1892. Through the exhibitions played by Naismith's students at YMCA branches, the new game spread. The small training school has grown into Springfield College and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. At first a ladder was set up to get the balls out of the peach baskets. When metal baskets were substituted, a pole was needed to poke the ball out of a hole in the bottom. The metal hoop was not invented until 1906. A bag of braided cord netting was attached to the hoop, and after a score the ball was popped out by pulling a cord. Backboards were introduced to stop spectators from interfering with shots. The soccer balls were replaced by laced leather balls with rubber bladders, then laceless balls, and finally the molded leather- or composition-covered balls in use today.
The barnstorming Harlem Globetrotters were masters of the fake throw and other trick shots. In an era when basketball was perceived as a nonintegrated white man's game, the team of athlete-comedians was developed from a black squad that played exhibitions in a Chicago ballroom. Their founder-owner-coach was Abe Saperstein, who took them on the road in 1927. Once their superior ball-handling ability was demonstrated, they began to develop the trademark comic style spinning the ball on their fingers, drop-kicking it toward the goal, and head-bouncing it into the basket, with behind-the-back dribbling and blind passes. In 1961 Saperstein formed the short-lived American Basketball League (ABL), which pioneered the three-point basket.
The American game practiced on playgrounds and driveways has become a sport without boundaries. The world governing body of amateur basketball is the FIB (Federation Internationale de Basketball). It sanctions such events as the McDonald's Basketball Open, which was inaugurated in 1987 with competition between the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and Soviet and Italian teams. In 1989 at its world congress the FIB abolished all distinctions between professionals and other basketball players. Some of the top players from European Champions' Cup competition have tried to break their European contracts in order to play with NBA teams.
Here is what you need to know if you are interested in learning how to play basketball.
- Equipment. Easy. One basketball and two basketball hoops on opposite ends of the court. The hoops should be ten feet high. In a classic game, these and two teams of five apiece will be the requirements. If a full court and fewer players are available, a casual game with one hoop can be played using alternate rules.
- Object of the Game. The object is to score more baskets (successful shots in the hoop) than your opponent.
- Length of game. The National Basketball Association teams (NBA) play a 60 minute game with four 15-minute periods, but you can determine the length yourself.
- Start of Game: Tip Off. To start the game, the two teams line up around their two centers (see positions below for description). Each player matches up against another based on height and skill (ideally). The referee throws the ball straight up and the two centers jump up to gain possession. The goal is to "tip" the ball to you teammate to gain possession.
- Offense: Scoring. Basketball is as an offense vs. defense game. When you have the ball, all members of the team are on offense. On offense you are trying to score points by shooting the ball into the defending team's basket. Each "field goal" or "basket" is worth two points. Baskets scored outside the 3-point line (an arc-shaped line beyond the free throw line) are worth 3 points.
- Offense: Advancing the Ball. On offense you can advance the ball two ways: passing and dribbling.
- The Dribble. Take the ball and bounce it on the floor in a continuous motion. This is dribbling. You can move your feet and body in any direction as long as you are dribbling. The goal for the team on offense is to move towards the defending teams' basket, so this is usually the direction people on offense dribble in. Once you cross mid-court, you cannot cross back over it.
Once you stop the motion and hold onto the ball, your dribble has ended. At this point, you must stop your forward (or backward) motion and either pass or shoot the ball. You do, however, have one remaining option to gain ground before you pass or shoot: the pivot. You may pivot on one and only one foot (no switching during a pivot) to increase your passing or shooting options. If you fail to stop after the dribbling or pivoting, your motion will cause a "traveling" foul. Also, if you begin to dribble again, a foul is called and the ball is given to the opposite team. If you hold the ball for more than five seconds, you incur a penalty and lose possession as well.
- The Pass. You may choose to pass the ball in order to advance your offense. Again, if you cross mid-court, you cannot pass the ball back behind the half-line. This action will result in a change of possession.
- The Dribble. Take the ball and bounce it on the floor in a continuous motion. This is dribbling. You can move your feet and body in any direction as long as you are dribbling. The goal for the team on offense is to move towards the defending teams' basket, so this is usually the direction people on offense dribble in. Once you cross mid-court, you cannot cross back over it.
