Basketball (Olympic sport since 1936)

   About

   For 36 years after basketball entered the Olympic Games as a full medal sport for men, the question was not who would win, but who would finish second. The United States owned the game, and not just because it was invented there.

   The Soviet Union took home the gold when they toppled the US team in a controversial 1972 game. After another semi-final victory for the Soviets in 1988, the sport opened to professionals. Once again, the question became who would finish second. In Barcelona in 1992, with a squad featuring some of the world's best-known athletes - Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird - the gold-medal winning US "Dream Team" gave an exhibition of basketball at its best.

   Women's basketball hasn't been quite such a one-sided affair. Since it joined the Olympic programme in 1976, the gold medals have been divided between the US, the Soviet Union and, after the break-up of the Soviet Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States.

   Competition

   Basketball is played in 4 periods of 10 minutes each at the Olympic Games. Five-minute overtimes follow if a game is tied. Both the Men's and the Women's basketball tournament is played with 12 teams, except the host country and the reigning World Champion all teams have to qualify through a continental championship a year in advance to the Olympics. A three-point line, or arc, around the hoop allows three points for baskets from beyond 6.25 metres and two points from inside that distance.

   List of events

   -- basketball Men

   -- basketball Women

History

   Discipline's origin

   Basketball was invented in December 1891 by James W. Naismith (1861-1939) of Canada, who was then an instructor at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts, now Springfield College. The game was invented when Naismith was charged with developing an indoor game to keep his students in shape during the cold New England winter. Originally, basketball was played with peach baskets, and an attendant on a ladder retrieved the ball after a made basket. Naismith formulated 13 rules of the game, the majority of which still form the basics of the modern game.

   Although primarily developed in the United States, basketball had spread internationally by the 1930s. After the foundation of the International Basketball Federation 1932 in Geneva, Switzerland.

   Olympic history

   Basketball was on the Olympic programme in 1904, but the event was contested by only a few American club teams and actually served as the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union of the USA) Championship for that year. Thus the event is usually considered only an exhibition. The winning team, incidentally, was the Buffalo German club, which was so dominant in those days that they were inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a team.

   In 1936, basketball made its first appearance as a medal sport at the Olympics, and the sport has been included in every Olympic Games since. In 1976, women's basketball was added to the programme. The United States has dominated international basketball. The USA won all the Olympic titles until 1972 when they were defeated by the Soviet Union. The Soviet women were originally the top team on the female side, winning gold in 1976, 1980 and 1992, but the US women have now surpassed them, winning gold medals in 1984, 1988, 1996 and 2000.

   Today, basketball has become one of the most popular sports in the world, rivalling football (soccer) for world-wide popularity and trailing only volleyball and track and field athletics in terms of number of member federations. US College basketball is wildly popular in the United States, culminating each March with the NCAA Championships. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the professional basketball league in the United States and universally considered to be the strongest in the world with the European leagues being close in terms of competition and public awareness.

   In 1992, for the first time, NBA players were allowed to represent the USA and all other countries in national team competition. The 1992 US Team, dubbed the "Dream Team" by the world's media, was certainly the greatest basketball team ever assembled and it dominated the 1992 Olympic tournament. Full professional participation is now allowed for both men and women in basketball at the Olympics. With the United States allowed to use NBA professionals, they have reasserted their dominance at the international level, with victory in every tournament in which NBA players have participated. However, the gap between the USA and the rest of the world seems to be ever decreasing, as was witnessed during the Sydney Olympics, in which the USA was tested several times on the way to the gold medal. Further proof of that challenge has been given by the sensational upset of a star domed US team during the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis, USA. Argentina, Yugoslavia and Spain defeated the USA who was left with a disappointing sixth place in their own country.

Equipment

   Backboard

   The rigid rectangular board behind the rim.

   Basketball

   The basket ball is an inflated sphere with an outer covering. It is 75 to 78cm in circumference and weighs 600 to 650 grams. It must be made of leather in official FIBA competition.

   Basket

   The goal, made up of a horizontal and circular metal rim with a net hanging from it.. It is mounted 3.05 m above floor level.

   Shoes

   High-topped shoes.

   Shot clock

   The clock that counts down the maximum 24 seconds the offence is allowed to possess the ball before shooting.

   Floor

   Playing surface made of wodden parquet. Dimensions: 28m x 15 m

Glossary

   8-second violation: Failure by the offensive team to cross the centre line within 8 seconds of gaining possession of the ball.

   Airball: A shot that missed the rim, net and backboard.

   Alley oop: A play in which one player throws the ball into the vicinity of the rim and a jumping team-mate catches it and scores a basket in one motion, usually with a dunk.

   Assist: A pass that leads directly to a basket by a team-mate.

   Back court: The half of the court that a team is defending.

   Bank shot: A shot that caroms off the backboard before touching the rim.

   Baseline: The line defining each end of the court; also known as the "end line".

   Basket: A successful shot at the goal.

   Block: To intercept a player's shot, preventing the ball from continuing on its path towards the basket.

   Box out: To stay between an opposing player and the basket in search of a rebound when someone shoots the ball.

   Breakaway: An easy chance for a basket when a player gets the ball well behind the defence.

   Centre: A position usually played by the biggest player on the team.

   Centre line: The line across the court dividing the back court and front court.

   Dead ball: A ball out of play.

   Double dribble: A violation, caused by either dribbling again after discontinuing the original dribble or by dribbling with both hands touching the ball simultaneously.

   Double foul: Simultaneous fouls by two opposing players.

   Dribble: To control the basketball by bouncing it with either hand.

   Dunk: To force the ball down into the basket with one or both hands.

   End line: The line defining each end of the court; also known as the "baseline".

   Fast break: A quick attack on offence after gaining possession of the ball on defence.

   Forward: A position usually played by players bigger than guards but more versatile than centres.

   Free throw: A shot, worth one point, awarded to a player who has been fouled.

   Free-throw line: The line where a player stands to shoot free throws.

   Front court: The half of the court where the offensive team attacks the basket.

   Full-court press: A defence that is extended the full length of the court.

   Goal tending: The act of touching the ball when a shot is descending towards the basket or is directly above the basket.

   Guard: A position usually played by players adept at ball-handling, passing or long-range shooting.

   Hook shot: A one-handed shot, with the shooting hand extended far above the head and with the body turned sideways between the shooting hand and the basket.

   Intentional foul: A foul judged by the referee to have been committed intentionally

   Jump ball: A ball tossed in the air by the referee so two opposing players can jump and try to tip it to a team-mate.

   Jump shot: A shot by a player releasing the ball while at the top of a leap.

   Key: The area between the free-throw line and the near end line and bordered by two angled lines, in which no offensive player may stand for three seconds at a time

   Lay-up: A shot by a moving player who jumps very close to the basket and shoots while in the air.

   Live ball: A ball in play.

   Man-to-man: A defence in which each player is designated an offensive player to mark.

   Personal foul: Common illegal physical contact with an opposing player.

   Pick: To block a defensive player while standing still, enabling a team-mate on offence to evade the defender; also known as "screen" or "block".

   Pick-and-roll: A play in which an offensive player sets a screen, then pivots towards the basket looking for a pass; also known as a "screen-and-roll".

   Pivot foot: The foot that a player must keep fixed to the floor to avoid a travelling violation while holding the ball.

   Press: To extend defensive pressure beyond its usual area.

   Rebound: To grab the ball in the air after a player has missed a shot. Defensive or offensive rebound.

   Screen: To block a defensive player while standing still, enabling a team-mate on offence to evade the defender; also known as "pick".

   Screen-and-roll: A play in which an offensive player sets a screen, then pivots towards the basket looking for a pass; also known as a "pick-and-roll".

   Steal: To take the ball from an opposing player.

   Technical foul: A foul called for unacceptable behaviour.

   Three-point basket: A basket shot from beyond the three-point line.

   Three-point line: An arc on the floor 6.25m from the basket, dividing three-point shots from two-point shots.

   Three-second violation: A violation called for an offensive player standing in the key for three seconds.

   Time-out: A stoppage of the game clock, normally called by a coach to discuss strategy with the team.

   Travelling: A violation by a player with the ball who moves both feet without dribbling.

   Violation: An infringement of the rules.

   Zone: A defence in which each player is assigned an area of the court to defend.