Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The First World War broke out in 1914, and the U.S.
Army started fighting in Europe in 1917. During World War I,
the American Expeditionary Force took basketball wherever it
went. Together with the troops, there were hundreds of
physical education teachers who knew basketball. Naismith
also spent two years with the YMCA in France in that period
for money against challengers.
The Original Celtics, for instance, are considered the "fathers
of basketball" and were presented as "World’s Basketball
Champions"the players had to sign a contract to play with
them, and Jim Furey organized matches as a circus, moving
daily from town to town. The Celtics became the strongest
team, and their successes lasted from 1922 until 1928, when
the team disbanded due to ownership problems. The Original
Celtics are sometimes incorrectly thought of as forebears of
the current Boston Celtics of the NBA; in reality, they share
only a name, as today's Celtics were not founded until 1946,
nearly two decades after the demise of the Original Celtics. In
1922, the first all-African American professional team was
founded: the Rens (also known as New York Renaissance or
Harlem Renaissance).The Rens were the Original Celtics’
usual opponent, and for their matches a ticket cost $1. They
took part in some official championships and won the
first World Professional Basketball Tournament in 1939. The
team disbanded in 1949.
Professional leagues, teams, and organizations
The first professional league was founded in 1898. Six teams
took part in the National Basketball League, and the first
champions were the Trenton Nationals, followed by the New
York Wanderers, the Bristol Pile Drivers and the Camden
Electrics. The league was abandoned in 1904. Then, many
small championships were organized, but most of them were
not as important as some teams who played
Formation of FIBA
Modern-day NBA
The NBA has helped popularize basketball all over the world.
A large part of this is due to the transcendent stars that have
played the game through the years. It was because of the play
of Michael Jordan that basketball started to reach international
audiences, especially on the 1992 United States men's
Olympic basketball team, known as the Dream Team.
Characteristics
Contact Limited
Equipment Basketball
[citation needed]
Women's basketball is one of the few women's sports
that developed in tandem with its men's counterpart. It became
popular, spreading from the east coast of the United States to
the west coast, in large part via women's colleges. From 1895
until 1970, the term "women's basketball" was also used to
refer to netball, which evolved in parallel with modern
women's basketball. It is mostly popular in America
Australia women's national basketball team on winning the 2006 FIBA World
Championship
Basketball size
Court dimensions
The standard court size in U.S. college and WNBA play is 94
feet long by 50 feet wide. The FIBA standard court is slightly
smaller at 28 metres long by 15 metres wide (91 ft 10.4 in by
49 ft 2.6 in). For most of its distance, the three-point line is
6.75 m (22 ft 2 in) from the middle of the basket under both
FIBA and WNBA rules. Near the sidelines, the three-point
line runs parallel to the.sideline, at a distance of exactly 3 feet
in the WNBA and 0.9 m in FIBA play. Under NCAA rules,
the three-point distance is 20 ft 9 in (6.32 m) for most of the
width of the court, with a minimum distance of 4 ft 3 in
(1.30 m) from the sidelines. The WNBA, FIBA, and NCAA
all use a block/charge arc near each basket, with the WNBA
and NCAA distance at 4 ft (1.2 m) from the center of the
basket and FIBA using a marginally wider radius of exactly
1.25 m (4 ft 1 in).
Shot clock
The WNBA shot clock was changed from 30 to 24 seconds,
which has been in FIBA play since 2000, and has been used
by the NBA since the shot clock was first introduced. Both
men's and women's NCAA college basketball use a 30-second
shot clock; men used a 35-second shot clock until the 2015–
16 season, when they switched to 30 seconds as well.
Game clock
Most high school games are played with four 8-minute
quarters, while NCAA, WNBA, and FIBA games are played
in four 10 minute quarters. In 2015-2016 the NCAA changed
the rules to 10 minute quarters from 20 minute halves.[4]
Governance
Women's basketball is governed internationally by
the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). Since 1953
FIBA has hosted a world championship tournament for
women, currently known as the FIBA Women's Basketball
World Cup. The event, renamed from "FIBA World
Championship for Women" after its 2014 edition, is currently
held in even-numbered non-Summer Olympic years. There
has been some concern about the reach of the sport after one
governing body disallowed Muslim women playing in hijabs.
Year Host
Silver Bronze
Gold medalist Score Score Fourth place
medalist medalist
1976 No No
Montreal
details Soviet Union playoffs United States Bulgaria playoffs Poland
1980
Moscow 104–73 68–65
details Soviet Union Bulgaria Yugoslavia Hungary
1984 Los
85–55 63–57
details Angeles United States South Korea China Canada
1988
Seoul 77–70 68–53
details United States Yugoslavia Soviet Union Australia
1992
Barcelona 76–66 88–74
details Unified Team China United States Cuba
1996
Atlanta 111–87 66–56
details United States Brazil Australia Ukraine
2000
Sydney 76–54 84–73
details United States Australia Brazil South Korea
2004
Athens 74–63 71–62
details United States Australia Russia Brazil
2008
Beijing 92–65 94–81
details United States Australia Russia China
2012
London 86–50 83–74
details United States France Australia Russia
2016 Rio de
101–72 70–63
details Janeiro United States Spain Serbia France
Americas
United States
See also: Women's Pro Basketball League, American
Basketball League (1996-1998), Women's National Basketball
Association, and Women's American Basketball Association
WNBA
Main article: Women's National Basketball Association
Asia
The Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA) is a
professional women's basketball league established in 2002.
Europe
The Russian Women's Basketball Premier League is the
dominant league in Europe (largely because it is the main
attraction of the WNBA players during the off-season). Other
notable leagues are the Italian Serie A1, the Spanish Liga
Femenina and the Turkish Women's Basketball League.
Basketball terminology
Basket interference
In basketball, basket interference is the violation of (a)
touching the ball or any part of the basket while the ball is on
the rim of the basket, (b) touching the ball when it is within
the cylinder extending upwards from the rim, (c) reaching up
through the basket from below and touching the ball, whether
it is inside or outside the cylinder, or (d) pulling down on the
rim of the basket so that it contacts the ball before returning to
its original position. How the ball gets into the cylinder or
onto the basket is irrelevant under high school and NCAA
rules; e.g., a throw-in touched within the cylinder is basket
interference, even though such a play could not score a
goal. This similar play under NBA rules would not be basket
interference.
Most basketball players slide their hand to one side of the ball
when dribbling to better control the ball, directing it from left,
not only this is legal, but it also allows more control and
easier ball-handling. The problem arises when the ball-handler
slides their hand too far down the side of the ball and has their
hand below it. A carrying violation is called once the player’s
hand is below the ball’s plane of 90° and the ball's motion
significantly stops.
Defensive three-second violation
A defensive three-second violation, also known as illegal
defense, is a basketball rules infraction in the National
Basketball Association (NBA) introduced in the 2001-2002
season. It is assessed when a member of the defending team
spends more than three seconds in the free throw lane (also
called the key, the 16-foot lane, or "in the paint") while not
actively guarding an opponent. To be considered actively
guarding, a defender must be within arm's length of an
opponent and in a guarding position. A three-second count is
suspended if:
Penalty
Penalty
Loss of ball. The opponent is awarded the ball at the free Five-
second free throw violation
A free throw shooter, under FIBA rules, must throw the ball
towards the hoop within five seconds after an official places it
at his disposal.[9] (Under North American rule sets, the shooter
is allowed 10 seconds.)
Penalty
If the free throw is successful, then the point shall not count.
The ball is awarded to the opponent at the free throw line
extended unless another free throw is to follow or a
possession penalty is to follow.[10]
Flagrant foul
In basketball, a flagrant foul is a personal foul that involves
excessive or violent contact that could injure the fouled
player. A flagrant foul may be unintentional or purposeful; the
latter type is also called an "intentional foul" in the NBA.
However, most intentional fouls are not considered flagrant
and fouling intentionally is an accepted tactic to regain
possession of the ball with minimal time off the game clock.
NBA
The NBA established the flagrant foul in the 1980-81 season
and enacted proper penalties for it in 1990-91,[1] to deter
contact which, in addition to being against the rules, puts an
opponent's safety or health at risk.
Fines
Flagrant fouls over the course of the season can result in
monetary fines and suspension, at the sole discretion of
the Commissioner of the NBA.
Game tactics
The flagrant foul rule deters undesired play by awarding
possession of the ball to the offended team as an extra penalty.
A simple personal foul may let the fouling team regain
possession of the ball (by rebound or by award after a made
free throw). However, a flagrant foul results in free
throws and possession afterwards.
FIBA
FIBA basketball rules have similar fouls but use different
terms.
The penalty for these fouls is two free throws and possession
at midcourt for the team that was fouled.
United States scholastic rules
NCAA
The NCAA's Playing Rules Oversight Panel adopted the
"flagrant" term before the 2011-12 season for both men's and
women's basketball.[3] However, the NCAA's women's rules
committee abandoned the term "flagrant", effective with the
2017–18 season, in favor of FIBA's "unsportsmanlike" and
"disqualifying" terms.[4] These fouls are counted as personal
fouls and technical fouls.
Classes of foul
Personal foul
A personal foul is the most common type of foul. It results
from personal contact between two opposing players.
Basketball features constant motion, and contact between
opposing players is unavoidable, but significant contact that is
the fault of illegal conduct by one opponent is a foul against
that player. Most personal fouls are called against a defensive
player. A personal foul that is committed by a player of the
team in possession of the ball is called an offensive foul.
When neither team is in clear possession of the ball, a foul is
called a loose-ball foul.
Flagrant foul
A flagrant foul is violent player contact that the official
believes is not a legitimate attempt to directly play the ball
within the rules.
Technical foul
A technical foul is a foul unrelated to physical contact during
game play. The foul may be called on a player in the game,
another player, a coach, or against the team in general. This
class of foul applies to all of the following:
Other terms
A player foul is any foul, but typically personal and flagrant
fouls, by reference to the count of fouls charged against a
given player. A team foul is any foul by reference to the count
against a given team.
Only the fourth definition remains. Running with the ball and
striking it with the fist are now violations. Holding the ball
with the arms or body is now rare but legal.
Cylinder
in the front by the palms of the hands, when the arms are
bent at the elbows so that the forearms and hands are
raised, but no farther in front than the feet,
in the rear by the buttocks,
at the sides by the outside edge of the arms and legs.
The NBA does not use the cylinder principle to judge contact;
it only says that a player may not bend or reach in a position
that is not normal (nor push, hold, and so on).
Strategy
Apart from using hands in neutral space to shield or deflect a
pass or a shot, the defender uses his or her body to impede the
ball-carrier's advance toward the basket. The defender's only
absolute way to achieve this is to stand directly in the ball-
carrier's path and "draw a charge." Short of this, the defender's
use of the body may make the ball-carrier hesitate or change
tactics. Both opponents are restrained by their desire not to
commit a foul.
It is not a foul to grab for the ball, or to touch a hand of the
ball-carrier that is on the ball, but the ball-carrier, especially in
the act of shooting, can easily cause greater contact that is a
blocking foul against the defender.
Screening
A screen is an attempt by an offensive player to stop a
defender from guarding the ball-carrier. For example, John
Stockton and Karl Malone were well known for their pick and
roll(or screen and roll) play. The ball-carrier's teammate is the
screener; he stands in the path of the defender as the ball-
carrier dribbles past the screener. This at least costs the
defender time, and may induce a collision. Either leaves the
ball-carrier unguarded. However, if the screener moves
towards the ball-carrier when contact occurs, or does not
respect the elements of time and distance, or initiates contact,
he is charged with illegal screening or setting a moving pick.
These are blocking fouls.
Non-foul
Referees who called every case of illegal player contact would
dominate the game to the exclusion of the athletes, but
reluctance to make calls would make the game excessively
violent. The rules direct referees to seek a balance between
these extremes, though they do not define it.[n 3]
Penalties
The official scorer records the foul in two counts of fouls on
the scoresheet:
As a player foul against the offending player during the
game. A player who accumulates too many fouls will foul
out (see below).
As a team foul against the offending player's team during
the current quarter or half. A team that accumulates too
many fouls in that period enters the penalty situation and
puts the other team into the "bonus." In college basketball,
another, higher number of team fouls gives the other team a
"double bonus" (men only) regarding the number of free
throws. (See the article on free throws.)
Strategy
To keep games from being bogged down with cheap fouls, the
NBA rules provide that the second foul in the final two
minutes of a half puts the fouled team in the bonus (enabling
free throws) regardless of the number of team fouls.
Fouling out
A player who commits five personal fouls over the course of a
40-minute game, or six in a 48-minute game, fouls out and is
disqualified for the remainder of the game. A player within
one or two fouls of fouling out is in "foul trouble." Players
who foul out are not ejected and may remain in the bench area
for the remainder of the game. Fouling out of a game is not a
disciplinary action.
In the NCAA and FIBA, if a team is reduced to five players
by injury or ejection, and one of them commits a fifth foul
(sixth in FIBA) or is ejected, play continues with that team
reduced to four players. A team automatically loses the game
by default if fewer than two players remain in the game.
This rule let Don Otten set the NBA record for personal fouls
in a regular-season game. He had eight fouls while playing for
the Tri-Cities Blackhawks (now the Atlanta Hawks) against
the Sheboygan Red Skins on November 24, 1949. The rule
was again invoked in a game between the Los Angeles Lakers
and Cleveland Cavaliers on February 5, 2014. With the
Lakers down to 5 players due to injuries, when Robert
Sacre fouled out, he remained in the game.
Screen (sports)
After Jarell Martin sets a pick on Anthony Barber for Nigel
Williams-Goss, that breaks Williams-Goss free for a drive
down the lane at the 2013 McDonald's All-American Boys
Game
Isaiah Hicks screens Jarell Martin and Marcus Lee for Chris Walker at the 2013 McDonald's
All-American Boys Game.
Technical foul
In basketball, a technical foul (also colloquially known as a
"T" or a "Tech") is any infraction of the rules penalized as a
foul which does not involve physical contact during the
course of play between opposing players on the court, or is a
foul by a non-player. The most common technical foul is
for unsportsmanlike conduct. Technical fouls can be assessed
against players, bench personnel, the entire team (often called
a bench technical), or even the crowd. These fouls, and their
penalties, are more serious than a personal foul, but not
necessarily as serious as a flagrant foul (an ejectable offense
in leagues below the NBA, and potentially so in the NBA).
Technical fouls are handled slightly differently
under international rules than under the rules used by the
various competitions in the United States. First, illegal contact
between players on the court is always a personal foul under
international rules, whereas in the USA, such contact is, with
some exceptions, a technical foul when the game clock is not
running and/or when the ball is dead. Second, in FIBA play
(except for the half-court 3x3 variant, in which individual
personal foul counts are not kept), players foul out after five
total fouls, technical and personal combined (since 2014, one
technical can be included towards the total; two technicals in a
game results in ejection). The latter rule is similar to that
in college, high school, and middle school basketball in
the United States. However, in leagues that play 48-minute
games such as the NBA, and in some leagues such as
the WNBA, players are allowed six personal fouls before
being disqualified, and technical fouls assessed against them
do not count toward this total. However, unsportsmanlike
technicals in the NBA carry a fine, its severity depending on
the number of technicals the player has already obtained, and
players are suspended for varying amounts of time after
accumulating sixteen technicals in the regular season or seven
in the playoffs.
Traveling (basketball)
In basketball, traveling is a violation of the rules that occurs
when a player holding the ball moves one or both of their feet
illegally. Traveling is also called, predominantly in a streetball
game, "walking" or "steps".
When a player has taken three or more steps without the ball
being dribbled, a traveling violation is called. A travel can
also be called via carrying or an unestablished pivot foot. If
the pivot foot of a player changes or moves, it is considered a
travel and the ball handler will be penalized. The only times
traveling is acceptable is during the NBA Slam Dunk Contest,
which isn’t a game, or if the defender fouls the ball carrier. In
the latter case, the ball carrier retains possession of the ball
and the opposing team gains a foul.
Zaza rule
The Zaza rule is the unofficial title for a rule change in
the 2017–18 NBA season concerning reckless closeouts
(defensive advancements toward a shooter intended to
disrupted a shot or prevent a pass). The namesake of the rule
is Zaza Pachulia, then a center for the Golden State
Warriors.[1]
Noah Vonleh's goaltending violation gives Nigel Williams-Goss a layup at the 2013
McDonald's All-American Boys Game.
FIBA rules allow a defender to block any shot that is over the
rim and the ball is on its upward flight.
Original rules
In January 15, 1892, James Naismith published his rules for
the game of "Basket Ball" that he invented:[1] The original
game played under these rules was quite different from the
one played today as there was no dribbling, dunking, three-
pointers, or shot clock, and goal tending was legal.