Portal:Basketball
The Basketball Portal
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Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately 9.4 inches (24 cm) in diameter) through the defender's hoop (a basket 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter mounted 10 feet (3.048 m) high to a backboard at each end of the court), while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own hoop. A field goal is worth two points, unless made from behind the three-point line, when it is worth three. After a foul, timed play stops and the player fouled or designated to shoot a technical foul is given one, two or three one-point free throws. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but if regulation play expires with the score tied, an additional period of play (overtime) is mandated.
Players advance the ball by bouncing it while walking or running (dribbling) or by passing it to a teammate, both of which require considerable skill. On offense, players may use a variety of shots – the layup, the jump shot, or a dunk; on defense, they may steal the ball from a dribbler, intercept passes, or block shots; either offense or defense may collect a rebound, that is, a missed shot that bounces from rim or backboard. 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. (Full article...)
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The key, officially referred to as the free throw lane by the National Basketball Association (NBA) (and Euroleague), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), and the restricted area by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), is a marked area on a basketball court surrounding the basket, where much of the game's action takes place.
It resembles a locksmith's key and consists of what is colloquially known as the circle and the post, also known as the lane or the paint, overlapping at the bottom half of the circle. It can be considered a lane showing the path to the basket, and is usually painted in a distinctive color. The post is bounded by the baseline, the free-throw line, and two lane lines connecting free throw line and baseline. (Full article...)Selected picture
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Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He is the only person in NBA history to be named Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, Finals MVP, All-Star MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year.
Growing up in French Lick, Indiana, Bird was a local basketball star. Highly recruited, he initially signed to play college basketball for coach Bob Knight of the Indiana Hoosiers, but Bird dropped out after one month and returned to French Lick and attended a local college. The next year, he attended Indiana State University, ultimately playing three years for the Sycamores. Selected by the Boston Celtics with the sixth overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft after his second year at Indiana State, Bird elected to stay in college and returned for the 1978–79 season. He then led his team to an undefeated regular season. The season finished with a national championship game match-up of Indiana State against Michigan State and featured a highly anticipated match-up of Bird against Michigan State great Magic Johnson, thus beginning a career-long rivalry that the two shared for over a decade. Michigan State won, ending the Sycamores' undefeated streak. (Full article...)Did you know -
- ... that former Basketball Bundesliga player Dennis Tinnon worked at a slaughterhouse before he was recruited to play college basketball?
- ... that basketball player Trey Kell signed with the Bosnian team Igokea over nine other European offers?
- ... that basketball player Zach Hankins helped Ferris State win its first Division II title in 2018, being named the tournament's most valuable player?
- ... that Ben Carter and his brother Tim played basketball for Team USA at the 2013 Maccabiah Games, winning a gold medal?
- ... that at the age of 13, Madeleine Thompson (pictured) was the youngest wheelchair basketball player ever to represent Great Britain?
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- All-NBA Team
- List of Olympic medalists in basketball
- List of men's national basketball teams
- List of women's national basketball teams
- List of basketball leagues
- List of members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
- List of coaches in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
- 50 Greatest Players in NBA History
- NBA Most Valuable Player Award
- NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award
- NBA Most Improved Player Award
- NBA Coach of the Year Award
- NBA Executive of the Year Award
- NBA Lifetime Achievement Award
- List of NBA All-Stars
- List of National Basketball Association awards
- Glossary of basketball terms
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