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Invented in 1891, basketball has become one of the world’s most popular and widely viewed sports. It is a sport between two teams, commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court. The objective of the players is to shoot the basketball through the defender’s hoop, a basket 18 inches in diameter and 10 off the ground, and to prevent the opposing team from shooting through their hoop. The team with most points at the end of the game wins. If regulation play expires and the scores are tied, additional time (overtime) is given.
At a Glance
Some Basic Basketball Rules
A basket scored on any shot or tap is a field goal and the team is given two points. In professional basketball courts, there is a three-point line and if the basket is scored from behind the three-point line the team is given three points. If a player of any team commits a foul, the time is stopped and the opposing team player is given a free throw (or foul shot). Free throws are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (a line situated at the end of the restricted area). A successful free throw is worth one point.
A quick review of how it is played!
The Player advances the ball by bouncing it while walking or running (dribbling) or passing it to the teammate, and it requires great skills. The other players also use their skills to intercept their passes and steal the ball from the dribbler.
Violations: The violations are a minor class of illegal actions. Most of them are committed by the team having the ball. Some of the Violations in basketball are listed below,
- Ball-handling violations:
- Backcourt violation (Over and back): When the ball is touched in the backcourt after it entered the frontcourt and was not touched by any other player of the opposing team it is called backcourt violation.
- Carrying or palming: When the dribbling player continues to dribble allowing the ball to come to rest in both hands it is called carrying or palming.
- Double-dribble: This basketball violation is similar to carrying and it occurs when a player ends his dribble by catching or causing the ball to come to rest in one or both hands and then dribbles it again with one hand or when a player touches it twice before the ball hits the ground.
- Traveling: When a play moves one or both of their feet with the ball illegally it is traveling. Also called “walking” or “steps” in street basketball.
- Excessive time took:
- Defensive three-second violation: it occurs when a member of the defending team spends more than three seconds in the free-throw lane. It is also known as an illegal defense.
- Five-second rule: Under all basketball rule sets, a team attempting to throw a ball has a total of five seconds to release the ball towards the court. The five-second clock starts when the team throwing it in has possession of the ball. If he did not, it’ll be a violation.
- Shot clock violation: The shot clock times a play and provides that a team on offense that does not promptly try to score points loses possession of the ball.
- Timeline violation: The timeline is a name for the line in the center that means that the offensive team has a limited amount of time to take the ball past this line. The violation of this rule is called timeline violation.
- Three seconds rule (Lane violation): According to this rule, the player shall not remain in the opponents’ restricted area for more than three consecutive seconds.
- Other violations:
- Basket interference: according to the rule of basket interference;
(a) You can not touch the ball or any part of the basket (including the net) while the ball is on the rim of the basket.
(b) You can not touch the ball while it is within the cylinder extending upwards from the rim.
(c) You can not reach up through the basket from below and touch the ball, even if it is inside or outside the cylinder.
(d) you can not pull the rim of the basket down so that it contacts the ball before returning to its original position.
- Goaltending: The interference with the ball while it is on its way to the basket is called goaltending.
The Penalty of a Violation:
When a team commits a violation, the ball is handed over to the other team, this is called turnover.
Fouls:
Fouls are much more serious infarction of rules than violations. Most of these fouls are the result of illegal contact and bad behavior of the players. There are three classes of foul listed below;
- Personal foul:
The type of foul which results from personal contact between two opposing players is a personal foul. when this foul is committed by a player of the team that has the ball, it is called an offensive foul and When neither of the team has the ball it is called a loose-ball foul.
- Flagrant foul: It is an aggressive contact between two players that is not a legitimate attempt to directly play the ball within the rules is called a flagrant foul.
- Technical foul: A foul unrelated to physical contact during the game is a technical foul. It is called on a player in the game, another player, a coach, or against the team in general.
The Penalty of a Foul:
When a team commits foul it can result in the following penalties;
- The team whose player committed the foul loses possession of the ball to the other team.
- The fouled player free throws. it can be one or two depending upon the severity of the foul
- The player committing the foul is sent out of the game and he is suspended from some number of subsequent games.
Conclusion:
Basketball is a well-known indoor sport and people enjoy playing and watching it. If you don’t have much knowledge about this sport, this article contains every basic thing you need to know about basketball.