Although it started out as just another sport, throughout the years basketball has become a passion. There isn’t a man in the USA who hasn’t enjoyed a game of basketball with his friends. Whether your just shooting hoops with a friends or your watching the game you can’t help but love this game. The basketball rules are rather simple. Furthermore the basic rules are being used across the globe with a few regional variations. If you have just discovered this game and you are having a hard time understanding it we will help you discover this great sport.
The first thing you need to understand is that basketball is a team sport. No matter how good a player is, he needs to collaborate with his mates in order to win a game. The teams usually consist of five players. However, various leagues and regions have a different number of player. For example in the NBA there have to be at least 10 players but no more than fifteen. Furthermore only five players from each team can be active in the same time. If a team doesn’t have five active players it automatically looses the game. There are three main types of players: center (the tallest ones), forward ( the second tallest players) and guard ( the shortest players)
The two teams compete against each other in order to score as many points as possible. In order to score points a player must throw the ball through a hoop elevated at ten feet above the ground. The players must only use their hands to maneuver the ball. According to the basketball rules, they can dribble it, pass it from one player to another and shoot for points. Each game is divided into sections. The duration of each game can differ for various leagues. It can last half an hour or it can last forty eight minutes. Furthermore the time can be split in halves or in quarters.
The teams play on a rectangular court. Each end of the court has a hoop and each team must defend their own hoop and shoot the ball through the opponent’s hoop. A mid court line divides the court in two sections. If a team puts the ball into play behind the line, it has ten seconds to get it back. If they fail to do so, the ball is given to the defensive team. Usually putting a ball through the hoops is equivalent to two points. However if the ball is thrown from outside the three points arch it is worth three points.
The basketball rules also regulate the fouls and violations with appropriate penalties. There are 6 types of fouls: a personal foul ( hitting, pushing, slapping, holding and illegal picking), charging (pushing or running over a player), blocking, flagrant foul (any type of violent contact), intentional foul and technical foul (it regards the manners of the game). The basic violations are walking/ traveling (moving without dribbling the ball or moving your foot after you stopped dribbling), carrying/palming, double dribble, held ball, goal-tending, back-court violation and time restrictions.
