Basketball – the sport originating from the USA is preceded by many prejudices: it is an injury-prone sport and anyway only something for two-meter giants. Women have no place in basketball, and if they do, then only big, muscular men. The sport of basketball is often associated with the ghetto, rap music and gangsterism. Yet the sport is on the rise not only in America, but also in Germany. The sport of basketball not only promotes team spirit, endurance and coordination, but also burns calories properly.
History of the sport of basketball
Back in 1891, Canadian physician and educator James Naismith developed the sport with the goal of providing his students with a peaceful sport with little risk of injury. To this end, he hung a peach basket at each end of the gymnasium and came up with 13 basic rules, which have thus remained almost unchanged to this day. Even the height of the baskets, arbitrarily set at 3.05 meters at the time, is still valid internationally.
Today, the sport of basketball is widespread throughout the world and, along with soccer, volleyball and the Olympic disciplines, is one of the most popular sports. In this country, too, the game around the orange ball is very much in vogue. The most famous German player, Dirk Nowitzki, the “German wunderkind”, has achieved great success both in the Bundesliga and in the North American professional league NBA with his club Dallas Mavericks. For the 2006/07 season, Nowitzki became the first European to receive the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award.
NBA, Bundesliga and Co.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) was founded in 1946 and quickly developed into the strongest and best-known basketball league in the world. Stars such as Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Earvin “Magic” Johnson or Kobe Bryant made a name for themselves there. The basketball world championship is held every four years, and the European champion is determined every two years. The current world champion in both competitions is Spain. In Germany, there is a Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), which determines the German champion every year.
One of the most successful teams is Alba Berlin, which has won the German championship eight times. In addition, there is a second basketball Bundesliga, as well as a junior Bundesliga, both for men and women. Numerous other teams and clubs fight for promotion in smaller regional, district and county leagues. Wheelchair basketball has also become one of the most important sports for the disabled. It has been an integral part of the Paralympics since as early as 1960, and a wheelchair basketball world championship is held every four years.
Tactics and rules in basketball
Generally, basketball revolves around an orange ball made of either synthetic material or leather. Men play with the official size seven, which has a circumference of 749-780 millimeters and weighs about 600 grams. In the women’s leagues, size six balls have been used since 2004. The ball is slightly smaller (724-737 millimeters) and weighs on average 50 grams less than the men’s ball.
The aim of the game is to put the ball in the opposing team’s basket as often as possible – the team that scores the most points at the end wins. Each team has five players on the court. One or two of them are usually directly under the basket (center), one or two guards are responsible for the basket shots from the outside and for setting up the game, and two forwards try to score points from the side or from close range.
A successful basket throw means two points, hits outside the three-point line bring three points, free throws only one point. The court is 28 by 15 meters and has a hard floor, usually rubber or linoleum. Different lines mark the “zone,” which is the free-throw area, the three-point line, and the center line. A basketball game consists of four quarters of ten minutes each, but time is stopped at each short stoppage in play. So, in total, a game can last a good 80 to 100 minutes. Players may be substituted as often as desired.
