Follow the Bouncing Ball Naismith used an old soccer ball for the first game and for a few years after that but once dribbling bouncing the ball became the norm something bouncier was needed In 1894 Naismith and the Spalding company who were also the first baseball manufacturer designed a ball with a rubber bladder and a leather covering Ever wonder what that little hole is on a basketball It’s the inflation hole that lets you inflate the bladder inside the ball But you need a special pin to do that In 1894 the laces originally ran along the outside seams to stitch the covering together The laces were removed in the 1930s The orange ball we know today was developed in the 1950s 9 5 in 24 1 cm diameter 8
SIZING IT UP How does the circumference of a basketball compare to balls used in other sports Check it out basketball 30 in 76 2 cm soccer ball 27 in 68 5 cm football 22 in 55 9 cm softball 12 in 30 5 cm baseball 9 in 22 9 cm tennis ball 8 in 20 3 cm 9 CAN YOU PALM A BASKETBALL LIKE A PRO The leather covering has a dimpled surface to help players grip the ball Pros can hold the ball with just one hand
Wood You Like to Play a Game The first game was played on a floor designed for gymnastics and other exercises It was only 54 by 35 feet 16 45 by 10 66 meters roughly half the size of the average modern school gym But as the game grew so did the court Basketball courts could be as small or as large as the arena allowed Pro games were held in open ballrooms or indoor arenas To limit the size of the court and to keep fans safe from flying basketballs or bodies teams set up wire barriers An early version was made of chicken wire which not surprisingly led to many cuts and scrapes Later versions were made of rope or chains The practice was scrapped in the 1920s but basketball players have been called cagers ever since In 1924 as the pro game began to develop teams got tired of shifting court sizes chicken wire and chains It was time for standard court dimensions They set the court size as 60 to 95 feet 18 28 to 28 95 meters long by 50 feet 15 24 meters wide depending on the space They didn’t have purpose-built basketball arenas then Modern pro courts 94 by 50 feet 28 65 by 15 24 meters International courts e g the ones at the Olympics 92 by 49 feet 28 04 by 14 93 meters High school courts 84 by 50 feet 25 60 by 15 24 meters 10
HARDWOOD Basketball court floors are made of hardwood slats usually maple The slats are ¾ inch about 1 9 centimeters thick and often 5 inches about 12 7 centimeters wide by 12 feet 3 65 meters long The National Basketball Association NBA makes teams replace them every 10 years to make sure they are always in top condition EACH PART OF A COURT HAS ITS OWN NICKNAME center court the circle in the middle three-point line t h e a rea outside the key but inside th e th re e p o i n t li n e high post near the top but outside the key low post close to the basket but outside the key key the painted area in the free throw lane also known as the paint ter rime e p HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE Boston’s floor is an exception to the usual rules It’s made from oak not maple It’s also a parquet pattern made from small square pieces of wood rather than long slats The team designed the pattern in the 1940s during a wood shortage The original court was notorious for having dead spots where the ball wouldn’t bounce well Boston defenders would try to angle forwards toward those spots baselines the lines at the ends of the court 11
