Académique Documents
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I. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Basketball was invented in December 1891 by Canadian James W. Naismith. An instructor at the YMCA
Training School in Massachusetts, he sought a suitable indoor game to keep his students fit and warm
during the cold New England winters. He formulated 13 rules, most of which still apply today. In 1893, the
first women’s game was played at the Smith College, in Northampton, Massachusetts, USA.
PEACH BASKETS
Originally, basketball was played with peach baskets and balls had to be retrieved manually after each
score. Subsequently, a hole was drilled into the bottom of the basket allowing the balls to be poked out with
a long rod. In 1906, the peach baskets were finally replaced by metal hoops with backboards
ORANGE BALL
Basketball was originally played with a soccer ball. The first balls made specifically for basketball were
brown, and it was only in the late 1950s that Tony Hinkle, searching for a ball that would be more visible to
players and spectators alike, introduced the orange ball that is now in common use.
GLOBAL POPULARITY INCREASES
In the early 1900s, students from abroad who had studied in Springfield started to spread the game. In the
1920s, the first international games were played and by 1950 the first World Championship for Men was
held in Argentina. Three years later, in 1953, the first World Championship for Women took place in Chile.
OLYMPIC HISTORY
Basketball made its appearance at the Olympic Games in 1904 in St Louis as a demonstration sport, as the
competition was held between only American teams and counted as an event of the Amateur Athletic Union
(AAU of the USA) Championships. At the Games in 1936 in Berlin, basketball joined the Olympic program,
where it has remained to this day. Women’s basketball debuted at the 1976 Games in Montreal.
The USA dominates international basketball and won all the titles up to 1972, the year it was defeated by
the Soviet Union at the Munich Games. In the women’s event, the Soviets took gold in 1976, 1980 and
1992, and were later dominated by the Americans between 1984 and 2008, except in 1992.
In 1992 at the Barcelona Games, famous players from the National Basketball Association (NBA) were
allowed for the first time to represent the USA. This team, known as the “Dream Team” in the international
media, was undoubtedly the best basketball team ever formed. It delighted the public and widely dominated
PLAYING COURT
Playing court
The playing court shall have a flat, hard surface free from obstructions (Diagram 1) with
dimensions of 28 m in length by 15 m in width measured from the inner edge of the boundary line.
Backcourt
A team's backcourt consists of its team's own basket, the inbounds part of the backboard and that
part of the playing court limited by the end line behind its own basket, the sidelines and the center line.
Frontcourt
A team's frontcourt consists of the opponents' basket, the inbounds part of the backboard and that
part of the playing court limited by the end line behind the opponents' basket, the sidelines and the inner
Lines
All lines shall be of the same color and drawn in white or other contrasting color, 5 cm in width and
clearly visible.
- Boundary line
The playing court shall be limited by the boundary line, consisting of the end lines and the sidelines.
These lines are not part of the playing court. Any obstruction including seated team bench personnel shall
The center line shall be marked parallel to the end lines from the mid-point of the sidelines. It shall
extend 0.15 m beyond each sideline. The center line is part of the backcourt. The center circle shall be
marked in the center of the playing court and have a radius of 1.80 m measured to the outer edge of the
circumference. The free-throw semi-circles shall be marked on the playing court with a radius of 1.80 m
measured to the outer edge of the circumference and with their centers at the mid-point of the free-throw
lines.
The free-throw line shall be drawn parallel to each end line. It shall have its furthest edge 5.80 m
from the inner edge of the end line and shall be 3.60 m long. Its mid-point shall lie on the imaginary line
joining the mid-point of the 2 end lines. The restricted areas shall be the rectangular areas marked on the
playing court limited by the end lines, the extended free-throw lines and the lines which originate at the end
lines, their outer edges being 2.45 m from the mid-point of the end lines and terminating at the outer edge
of the extended free-throw lines. These lines, excluding the end lines, are part of the restricted area. Free-
throw rebound places along the restricted areas, reserved for players during free throws, shall be marked.
area near the opponents' basket, limited by and including: the 2 parallel lines extending from and
perpendicular to the end line, with the outer edge 0.90 m from the inner edge of the sidelines;
An arc of radius 6.75 m measured from the point on the floor beneath the exact center of the
opponents' basket to the outer edge of the arc. The distance of the point on the floor from the inner edge of
the mid-point of the end line is 1.575 m. The arc is joined to the parallel lines. The 3-point line is not part of
The team bench areas shall be marked outside the playing court limited by 2 lines. There must be
16 seats available in the team bench area for the team bench personnel which consists of the coaches, the
assistant coaches, the substitutes, the excluded players and the accompanying delegation members. Any
- Throw-in lines
The 2 lines of 0.15 m in length shall be marked outside the playing court at the sideline opposite
the scorer’s table, with the outer edge of the lines 8.325 m from the inner edge of the nearest end line.
- No-charge semi-circle areas The no-charge semi-circle areas shall be marked on the playing
A semi-circle with the radius of 1.25 m measured from the point on the floor beneath the exact
center of the basket to the inner edge of the semi-circle. The semi-circle is joined to:
The 2 parallel lines perpendicular to the end line, the inner edge 1.25 m from the point on the floor
beneath the exact center of the basket, 0.375 m in length and ending 1.20 m from the inner edge of the end
line.
The no-charge semi-circle areas are completed by imaginary lines joining the ends of the parallel
lines directly below the front edges of the backboards. The no-charge semi-circle lines are part of the no-
EQUIPMENT
Backstop units, consisting of: backboards; baskets comprising (pressure release) rings and
Basketballs
Game clock
Scoreboard
Shot clock
Stopwatch or suitable (visible) device (not the game clock) for timing time-outs
2 separate, distinctly different and loud signals, one of each for the shot clock operator, and
scorer/timer.
Scoresheet
Playing court
Adequate lighting.
DRIBBLING
Dribbling is an important skill for all basketball players. This skill will allow you to move up and down the
court, maneuver past defenders and execute plays. Proper dribbling requires ball-handling skills and
knowledge of how to spread your fingers for ball control. It is also best if you know how to dribble equally
PASSING
Passing is another skill that when mastered can help you become a complete basketball player. Basketball
is a team sport that involves finding a teammate who is open for a shot. The ability to pass the ball to this
player can make the difference between scoring and not scoring. Really great passers are an important
part of a basketball team and usually the ones who set up scoring plays.
SHOOTING
In order to score points in basketball, you need to shoot the ball into the hoop. This requires the ability to
properly hold and throw the ball into the air toward the basket while avoiding defenders. A proper shot
requires precise aiming, arm extension and lift from the legs. There are different types of shots you need to
DRIBBLING
B. Basketballs, Hula-hoops
C. Start by placing a whole bunch of balls in the center area, equally spaced between anywhere
from 4-8 teams. At each team area, place a hula hoop for the balls to be placed after they are
taken from the middle area. On the go signal, players from each team go one at a time to the
middle, dribble the ball back to their hoop and tag the next person to go. The object is to take as
many balls until all are gone from the middle. When all the balls are gone from the middle, and then
take one ball from any of the other teams. After a designated time limit count to see which team
A. Hula Knockout
B. Basketballs, Hula-hoops
C. This is a dribbling practice game. Players will partner up so there will be pairs spread out in the
gym. In each pair, 1 player will start as the dribbler and have a basketball. The other player will
place a hula-hoop on the floor and stand with at least 1 foot inside of it. The player inside the hoop
will try to knock away the balls of other players who come too near (remember that 1 foot must
always be inside the hoop). If a player’s ball gets knocked away, they simply retrieve it and
continue dribbling. After a couple of minutes, players switch roles and play again.
PASSING
A. Catch-5
B. Basketball
C. It’s definitely one of the better games out there to promote and enhance the passing skill, as
well as other skills such as moving to open spaces, pivoting, and intercepting. Lots of action and
lots of fun as players work together to score points by completing 5 passes before losing control of
1. Form 2 teams in the playing area (use a half-court or full court basketball or volleyball
2. The goal of the game is to complete 5 successful passes, without the other team
4. Upon completing the 5th pass, that player puts the ball against the ground and scores a
point.
5. If the ball goes out of bounds, it’s the other team’s ball. Same thing with fouls (no contact
A. Masterball
Two teams compete to be first to knock over the target cone and quickly move to layups and
passing. Skills involved are aiming, rolling, catching, running, passing, and layups.
1. Near a basketball hoop, set-up a large square using 4 cones for the corners. Then place 1
3. Give each team a basketball to start (first player in one line from each team gets a ball).
4. On the signal, teams roll their basketballs back-and-forth trying to knock over the target
5. The team that eventually knocks over the cone quickly lines up at the basketball hoop and
6. The team that didn’t knock over the cones goes to the opposite end and performs 15-20
7. In this example, the blue team has knocked over the cone, so they do layups while the
8. Once the 20 passes have been made, all groups go back to their original cones.
SHOOTING
B. Basketballs, Nets
C. At each hoop, 2 teams of 3-5 players per team face-off against each other to be the first team to
get 5 baskets. Winning team will rotate to the next hoop; losing team stays at the hoop and play
against a new opponent (winner from the game on their other side who rotates to them). This
happens at every hoop. The goal is to try to be the first team to rotate around every basket. Lots of
repetitions, lots of shooting, and a great idea to use as part of a basketball unit.
A. 21
B. Basketball
C. 21 is perhaps the most popular shooting game for basketball. The idea is simple: be the first to
reach 21 points. Normally played in pairs or threes, players take turns shooting for 1 or 2 points –
unless you’re really good, you could make it to 21 without your opponent even having a chance to
V. RULES
TEAMS/NUMBER OF PLAYERS
Two teams of maximum 12 players, with a maximum of five players of each team on the court at any time.
THE OBJECTIVE
The objective of the game is to put the ball in the opposing team’s basket. The team with the most points at
DURATION
The game consists of four periods of 10 minutes. If the scores are tied, overtime periods of five minutes will
be played until one team has more points than the other (at the end of the 5-minute period)
SCORING
1. A basket scored from near the basket (inside the three-point arc) is worth two points.
2. A basket scored from far (beyond the three-point arc) is worth three points.
1. The ball may either be passed from one player to another, or dribbled by a player from one point to
2. Before passing or shooting the ball, a player may take two steps (without dribbling).
3. Once a player has stopped dribbling, he may not start to dribble again.
4. Once the team in possession of the ball has passed the half-court line, it may not cross back over
SHOT CLOCK
When a team gains possession of the ball, they have a maximum of 24 seconds to attempt a shot.
Additionally, offensive players may not remain within the restricted area (key) for more than three
consecutive seconds.
FOULS
1. A personal foul occurs when there is illegal contact between two opponents. A player who makes
2. A foul made on a player attempting a shot results in the awarding of the same number of free-
throws as those of the shot taken (two from inside the arc, three from outside). If a player is fouled
but makes the attempted shot, the shot counts and an additional free-throw will be awarded.
3. Once a team has made four fouls in a period, each additional foul (on a player not attempting a
1. If your team is winning at the end of a game, don't take a shot at the buzzer.
3. If one of your teammates gets in a scuffle, you should stand up for that player.
6. After a free throw attempt, you must make a quick tap to your teammates.
8. Anything you do in these futile last minutes/seconds is just to pad your stats with garbage stats.
11. The bench is the unofficial first layer of cheering squads of your team.
17. Don’t bother playing defense until… playing defense isn’t really required until the last 5 minutes-or-
21. No technical fouls should be assessed for emotional outbursts in the fourth quarter. Ever.
22. Sliding under an airborne player trying to draw a charge should be a flagrant foul.
23. Weak foul calls should be saved until after the possession is complete.
24. If a player is crossed up/falls over, all traveling and carrying violations are null and void.
26. If two blood rivals are facing each other one-on-one and both hit the button, let them make their
own calls.
VII. REFERENCES
history
2) Official Basketball Rules 2017: Playing Court and Equipment (2017, p. 6). Retrieved from
https://sportsaspire.com/list-of-basketball-equipment-with-pictures
3) Stewart, Tom (2017). The Five Basic Skills of Basketball. Retrieved from
https://www.livestrong.com/article/500227-the-five-basic-skills-of-basketball/
https://physedgames.com/category/basketball/
6) Medcalf, Myron (2016). Late-game etiquette rules in college basketball. Retrieved from
http://www.espn.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/111032/late-game-etiquette-rules-in-
college-basketball
http://www.stealthskater.com/Documents/Basketball_05.pdf