Basketball is a competitive sport developed by Dr. James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts at the close of the 19th century. It is played professionally on several continents, including North America, Asia and Europe. There are numerous technical rules that govern standard game play in basketball.
Players
In a game, each team is allowed to have a maximum of five players on the court simultaneously. Coaches are permitted to substitute players during dead ball situations, such as free-throw opportunities, timeouts and stoppages for a change of possession. Players may also be substituted when play has been halted to attend to an injury or to remove a player who has blood visible on the uniform or the body.
Live Scoring
Teams receive two points when an offensive player successfully makes a basket with both feet inside the three-point line. Teams receive three points when an offensive player makes a basket with both feet beyond the three-point arc. In most recreational gyms in the United States, the three-point line is set at the high school distance of 19 feet, 9 inches. However, the distance of the three-point arc varies depending upon the governing body responsible for a particular game. Women's NCAA basketball sets the line at the high school distance of 19 feet, 9 inches. For international matches overseen by FIBA as well as WNBA games in the United States, the three-point arc is 20 feet, 6 inches from the basket. NCAA men's games have a three-point line that is 20 feet, 9 inches away from the hoop. In the NBA, the three-point arc is set at 23 feet, 9 inches. A free throw is worth one point.
Personal Fouls
It is a violation for defensive players to physically obstruct the positioning or the shooting motion of an offensive player. Grabbing, pushing and knocking a player off an established position are examples of defensive fouls. It is a violation for offensive players to uproot defensive players from legally established positions. Charging into a defensive player and pulling a defensive player are examples of offensive fouls. Teams are awarded two free throws when an offensive player is fouled during the act of shooting within the three-point line, and three free throws when an offensive player is fouled from beyond the three-point arc.
Turnovers
When an offensive player in possession of the basketball either throws it out-of-bounds or steps on the out-of-bounds line, it is a turnover, and the ball is awarded to the team playing defense. If an offensive player in possession of the basketball fails to maintain a constant dribble while in motion, and takes more than two steps without dribbling, this is considered a traveling violation, and is a turnover. When an offensive player commits a foul, this is a turnover, and the offensive team must relinquish possession of the basketball.
Game Length
Basketball games differ in length, depending upon the governing body responsible for regulating the game. In the United States, NBA games are divided into four 12-minute quarters, for a total of 48 minutes. College games run by the NCAA are divided into two 20-minute halves, for a total of 40 minutes. International games governed by FIBA are divided into four 10-minute quarters, thus making games 40 minutes in length.
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