Basketball

Basketball is a sport played by two teams of five players on a rectangular court. The objective is to shoot a ball through a hoop 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter and 10 feet (3.048 m) high mounted to a backboard at each end. Basketball is one of the world's most popular and widely viewed sports.

In 1891, Dr. James Naismith, a physical education professor and instructor at the YMCA was trying to keep his gym class active on a rainy day. He sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied. After rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in gymnasiums, he wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto a 10-foot (3.05 m) elevated track. In contrast with modern basketball nets, this peach basket retained its bottom, and balls had to be retrieved manually after each "basket" or point scored; this proved inefficient, however, so the bottom of the basket was removed, allowing the balls to be poked out with a long dowel each time.

A team can score a field goal by shooting the ball through the basket during regular play. A field goal scores three points for the shooting team if the player shoots from behind the three-point line, and two points if shot from in front of the line. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but additional time (overtime) is issued when the game ends in a draw. The ball can be advanced on the court by bouncing it while walking or running or throwing it to a team mate. It is a violation to lift or drag one's pivot foot without dribbling the ball, to carry it, or to hold the ball with both hands then resume dribbling.