BASKETBALL AND ITS GREATEST PLAYERS keep some distance between the players and the actual scoring Thus the internationally popular game of basketball was born How THE GAME Is PLAYED The first basketball games played by James Naismith's students had two nine man teams and were played with a soccer ball In the first years of basketball competition the game was played under a wide range of rules The number of players varied from 10 to 18 the courts were often irregularly shaped and baskets were attached to balconies that allowed fans to swat shots from the basket Within the next decade the familiar rules and equipment of the modern game were established and continued to be modified to enhance the excitement of the competition RULES AND EQUIPMENT The dimensions of the indoor playing floor are 50 feet 15 2 meters by 94 feet 28 7 meters for professional and college play High school courts may be smaller The international court is 49 2 feet 15 meters by 92 feet 28 meters Every court includes a line that divides the court in half and at 12
THE GAME OF BASKETBALL the midpoint of that line is the center circle Other court markings include the free throw line and lane markings and a three point line that is 19 feet 9 inches 6 meters from the basket in college and high school play and 23 feet 9 inches 7 2 meters in the National Basketball Association NBA At each end of the court is a goal or basket NBA Basketball Court basket 18 in 46 cm free throw line 224 6 7 m free throw lane 50 152 m backboard 12 23 19 in 72m three point line 15 4 6 m center circle 94 28 7 m basket rim to floor 10 3 m minimum circumference 29 5 in 749 am minimum weight 20 oz 567 9 For NBA competition a basketball court is laid out on a hardwood floor in a gymnasium or other indoor arena The area at each end of the court marked by the free throw lane and its restraining circle popularly called the key is named for its resemblance to a keybole The standard dimensions of 94 feet 28 7 meters in length and 50 feet 15 2 meters in width may vary in high school and international play Merriam Webster Inc 13
BASKETBALL AND ITS GREATEST PLAYERS 10 feet 3 meters above the floor The first goals were literally baskets and a ladder was kept nearby to clear out the basket after each successful goal When metal bas kets were substituted a pole was needed to poke the ball out of a hole in the bottom The metal rim of the hoop was not invented until 1906 A bag of braided cord netting was attached to the hoop and after a score the ball was released by pulling a cord The cur rent basket is a metal orange ring 18 inches 46 centimeters in diameter with an open net suspended from the rim The backboard was introduced in 1895 in order to prevent fans sitting in balco nies from interfering with the baskets The backboard is now an important factor in the game and is used by skilled players to make shooting easier Backboards are either rect angular or fan shaped and may be made of any rigid material usually glass The soc cer balls used in early basketball games were replaced by laced leather balls then lace less ones and finally the molded leather or composition covered balls in use today The inflated ball has a grippable pebbled surface It measures 29 5 to 30 inches 4 9 to 76 centimeters in circumference and weighs 20 to 22 ounces 567 to 624 grams 14
THE GAME OF BASKETBALL A modern basketball www istockphoto com Jason Lugo In 1897 the number of players per side for a basketball game was set at five Typically the five players are a center two forwards one power forward and one small forward and two guards one point guard and one shooting guard While there are five play ers per team on the court at any given time the total number of players on a team may be higher no more than 15 in the NBA and substitutions may occur during the game 15
