Basketball

Introduction

            In this report i will elaborate an all time famous sports game which is known as basketball. This assignment will describe the rules to this game and the how it is played exactly. As we all know, basketball is one of the most popular sports internationally, it might be at a secondary level compared to football. However in some countries basketball is valued more than soccer. Basically basketball games are played in rectangular courts by two teams with five players in each team. The motive of this game is to score more goals than the opposing team by shooting the ball through the basket and the team which scores higher obviously wins.

History

            In 1891, a physical education professor and instruction at the International Young Men’s Christian Association Training School called James Naismith who invented the basketball, wanted to make his gym class active during a rainy day, so he took a soccer ball and a peach basket, wrote basic rules and started the game. James Naismith In 1893 changed the peach basket and replaced it with iron hoops and a hammock style basket. The open ended nets that we are using today came up ten years later, before that the player had to retrieve the ball from the basket every time he scored.

On January 18^th, 1896, the University of Iowa invited athlete students from the new University of Chicago for the first ever university basketball game.

The first competitive basketball leagues where all local leagues usually within the larger east coast cities like New York, Philadelphia and Boston. Some teams from differences regions would travel to play with each other and that was only in some specific occasions.

The Original Celtics which was an offshoot of a team called the New York Celtics was one of the early professional teams. This team began in 1914 and ended during World War One, but two brothers, Jim Furey and Tom Furey restarted the team at the end of World War One and they made many new concepts to the game like Zone defense which was their most important introduction, and the first contracts to any player. In the early days, players would switch teams constantly to who ever paid them the most, that’s why contracts were important because the Celtics would be able to prevent switching teams. The Celtics joined the Eastern league to win over Trenton and they beat them in the championship game in 1921. The Celtics left the league because of the lack of competitor although the great starting out 13-0.

In 1918 Eddie Gottlieb created the South Philadelphia Hebrew Association. The SPHA’s started attracting fans wherever they go because they had one of the most successful runs of all the Barnstorming teams and usually beat their opponent. First, the SPHA’s joined the Philadelphia League, and then they moved to the Eastern League after Philadelphia League disbanded and they started moving again and again once that league disbanded. The team was so popular that people would pay to see them playing even if it’s expensive.

Rules of the game

            There are many rules to basketball yet it does not limit the players from having their freedom in playing. Rules may differ from match to another depending on wether it is a national or international match. Nevertheless. the common rules that generally apply in basketball matches would be such as the game being divided into two halves that is fifteen minutes each, a five minute rest takes place between them. The main tool to rules in a basketball game is the referee. The referee is the one to call the shots, keep track of the time and scores of each team, as well as making sure both teams regulate to the rules of the game. Just like in soccer there are bounds in a basketball court in which the players should not cross. In case of crossing the bounds, the terms that apply would be that the first player who touched the ball gets five-seconds to throw it in the play field. Now as previously highlighted, time is key in this sports game if the player holds the ball more than five seconds, his chance will be turned against him by giving the ball to the opposing team. As a matter a fact, any extended acts of reacting from either teams though out the game will be considered a foul. Other violations to the game that would count as a foul would be pushing, striking, shouldering, holding or any acts of harm towards the opponent. The body and arms are not to be used to contain the ball, the ball must be maintained between the hands only. It does not make a difference if the player uses one or both hands, both cases are accepted in basketball. Throwing or batting the ball are examples of the acceptable motions in this game yet the player should not run with the ball. The benefit of one teams getting a foul in this game, is that the opposing team gets a goal on their behalf.

Conclusion

            Basketball is a really basic sport not much rules are applied to it compared to other sports games. Nevertheless, it still gets your adrenaline running. Many basketball players agreed that basketball is rather more about the fun even in moments of challenge while other sports game are more about winning throughout challenges. Regardless, the information mentioned through this report is the basic general knowledge one should have regarding basketball.