Whether young kids are playing basketball at a recreation center or professional athletes are competing in the NBA, the game has the same set of basic rules. The game has evolved since Dr. Naismith invented it in 1891, but many of the core rules have stayed the same, especially pertaining to scoring, fouls and violations.
Scoring
Points are scored in basketball by shooting the ball through a hoop, which is elevated 10 feet off the ground. Depending on the situation and where you are on the floor, the basket is worth 1, 2 or 3 points. You can earn 3 points if you shoot the ball from behind the 3-point line, which is at different distances from the basket depending on what level of basketball you are playing. If you are standing anywhere from on the 3-point line to right next to the hoop, baskets are worth 2 points. Free throws, which are unabated attempts from a line 15 feet from the hoop, are worth 1 point.
The Court
The court for professional basketball is a rectangle measuring 94 feet long and 50 feet wide; courts for high school basketball and younger leagues are smaller, depending on the facility and size of the gymnasium available. The court is divided into two halves, with each half having a 3-point line, which is a semi-circle that starts and ends on the baseline, three feet from each sideline. The 3-point line in professional basketball measures 23 feet, 9 inches from the basket at its most distant point; collegiate athletes shoot from a 3-point line that is 19 feet, 9 inches from the basket. Inside the 3-point line is a rectangle measuring 15 feet by 12 feet. It is known as the lane; players attempt free throws from the end of the lane at the free throw line.
Fouls
Fouls are typically called for pushing or impeding the progress of a aother player. If a player picks up five personal fouls in a game, or six in the NBA, he is disqualified from the rest of the game. Fouls often are called on defensive players, but an out-of-control offensive player also may be called for a foul. Unsportsmanlike conduct, such as taunting, fighting or profanity can result in a technical foul; two technical fouls on one player in a game results in the ejection of that player.
Violations
Different than a foul, violations result in turning the possession of the ball over to the other team. Possible violations when dribbling the ball include double dribble, which is either dribbling the ball with two hands at once or stopping and then restarting a constant dribble; traveling, which is when a player takes more than two steps with the ball without dribbling or changes her pivot foot without dribbling. Timing violations include the backcourt violation, in which the ball must be advanced from the back half of the court to the front half of the court within 10 seconds; the five-second violation for not passing the ball to a teammate from out of bounds within five seconds; and the three-second violation for standing in the lane for more than three seconds.
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