Dribble, dribble, jump, shoot, score!
- Basketball is normally a non-contact sport that requires the player to throw balls through a basketball hoop to score points.
- Basketball is typically played in two teams of five players, with one ball, and a basketball hoop mounted 3 metres (10 ft) high on a backboard at each end of the court.
- Basketball is one of the most popular sports worldwide.
- Basketball was invented by Dr James Naismith, a physical education teacher, when he nailed a peach basket to a wall for his students on a rainy day in 1891, in Massachusetts, USA.
- Basketball originally used a soccer ball until brown basket balls were produced for the purpose, until the modern orange, more visible balls were introduced in the 1950s.
Basketball
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- The first official basketball game was held in 1892, with nine people playing.
- Basketball was first played in the Olympic Games in 1936.
- A standard basketball is 75cm (29.5 inches) in circumference, although basket balls used in women’s tournaments are usually slightly smaller.
- Basketball is generally played indoors on a basketball court, the standard size being 26.8 meters (94 feet) in length and 15.2 meters (50 feet) in width.
- Professional male basketball players are generally 1.9 meters (6 ft 3) in height or taller.
Bibliography:
Basketball 7 March 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball>
