What is Basketball: Definition and 149 Discussions

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately 9.4 inches (24 cm) in diameter) through the defender's hoop (a basket 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter mounted 10 feet (3.048 m) high to a backboard at each end of the court) while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own hoop. A field goal is worth two points, unless made from behind the three-point line, when it is worth three. After a foul, timed play stops and the player fouled or designated to shoot a technical foul is given one, two or three one-point free throws. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but if regulation play expires with the score tied, an additional period of play (overtime) is mandated.
Players advance the ball by bouncing it while walking or running (dribbling) or by passing it to a teammate, both of which require considerable skill. On offense, players may use a variety of shots—the layup, the jump shot, or a dunk; on defense, they may steal the ball from a dribbler, intercept passes, or block shots; either offense or defense may collect a rebound, that is, a missed shot that bounces from rim or backboard. It is a violation to lift or drag one's pivot foot without dribbling the ball, to carry it, or to hold the ball with both hands then resume dribbling.
The five players on each side fall into five playing positions. The tallest player is usually the center, the second-tallest and strongest is the power forward, a slightly shorter but more agile player is the small forward, and the shortest players or the best ball handlers are the shooting guard and the point guard, who implements the coach's game plan by managing the execution of offensive and defensive plays (player positioning). Informally, players may play three-on-three, two-on-two, and one-on-one.
Invented in 1891 by Canadian-American gym teacher James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, basketball has evolved to become one of the world's most popular and widely viewed sports. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the most significant professional basketball league in the world in terms of popularity, salaries, talent, and level of competition. Outside North America, the top clubs from national leagues qualify to continental championships such as the EuroLeague and the Basketball Champions League Americas. The FIBA Basketball World Cup and Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament are the major international events of the sport and attract top national teams from around the world. Each continent hosts regional competitions for national teams, like EuroBasket and FIBA AmeriCup.
The FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup and Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament feature top national teams from continental championships. The main North American league is the WNBA (NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship is also popular), whereas the strongest European clubs participate in the EuroLeague Women.

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  1. H

    Projectile time left in basketball

    Homework Statement Trailing by two points, and with only 2.0 s remaining in a basketball game, a player makes a jump-shot at an angle of 60° with the horizontal, giving the ball a velocity of 10 m/s. The ball is released at the height of the basket, 3.05 m above the floor. Yes! It's a score...
  2. H

    Projectile Motion of half court basketball shot

    Homework Statement 1)A basketball player tries to make a half-court jump-shot, releasing the ball at the height of the basket. Assuming the ball is launched at 53.0°, 13.5 m from the basket, what velocity must the player give the ball? 2)A baseball is hit at 32.0 m/s at an angle of 52.0°...
  3. A

    Potential Energy in basketball

    Homework Statement A basketball is dropped from a height of 2m. It lost lost 20% of its energy, in the bouncing from the floor due to friction in the air, before it reaches the highest point of its first bouncing. How high did it bounce? h1= 2m h2=? g=9.8m/s^2 Homework Equations...
  4. G

    Time Spent in Top and Bottom 25 cm of Basketball Player's Jump?

    A basketball player grabbing a rebound jumps 70 cm vertically. How much (total) time does the player spend in the top 25 cm of this jump? How much (total) time does the player spend in the bottom 25 cm of this jump?
  5. C

    Projectile Motion thrown basketball

    Homework Statement A basketball player throws the ball at a 48° angle above the horizontal to a hoop whose centre is located a horizontal distance L = 4.30 m from the point of release and at a height h = 0.50 m above it. What initial speed is required if the basketball is to reach the centre...
  6. M

    Basketball projectile motion problem

    Homework Statement Attached I have the picture that comes with the problem. The question is how long does it take the ball to reach the hoop? The Attempt at a Solution I tried this problem 5 times, but I can't seem to get the right answer. Here is the way I approached the problem: I...
  7. O

    Projectile Motion and basketball dunk

    Homework Statement A basketball star covers 2.80m horizontally in a jump to dunk the ball. His motion through space can be modeled as that of a particle at his center of mass. His center of mass is at elevation 1.02m when he leaves the floor. It reaches a maximum height of 1.85m above the...
  8. D

    Basketball hang time and the acceleration of gravity

    Here is my question guys ...i guess you can help me out . 1.A basketball player achieves a hang time of 1.33 second in dunking the ball.the acceleration of gravity is 9.8m/s^2.what is vertical hight will he attain.answer in m. here is what i did. Y=Y(inital) + v(inital)t + 1/2 gt^2...
  9. J

    Basketball Projectile Motion Problem

    Homework Statement A basketball player who is 2.00[m] tall is standing on the floor 10.0 [m] from the basket, as in the figure. If he shoots the ball at 40.0degrees angle with the horizontal, at what initial speed must he throw so that it goes through the hoob without striking the backboard...
  10. S

    Michael Jordon- the most overrated basketball player of all time

    Michael Jordan is the most overrated basketball player of all time. Michael Jordon is too short to play basketball. He is only 6'6".
  11. H

    Calculating Optimum Angle for Basketball Throw

    Homework Statement A bastketball player is 2m tall and stands 10m from the basket.The height of the basket is 3m and the player throws the ball with speed 11m/s. At what angle with respect to the horizontal should he throw the ball so that is goes through to basket? Homework Equations...
  12. E

    Playing basketball on the moon

    If I was designing a basket ball court for the moon what exactly would i have to change in order for it to work? Like how would i change the size, make it smaller or larger? What other regulations would i need to change in order to adapt this sport to the moon?
  13. M

    Permutations matches in basketball league

    Homework Statement Suppose that a basketball league has 32 teams, split into two conferences of 16 teams each. Each conference is split into three divisions. Suppose that the North Central Division has five teams. Each of the teams in the North Central Division plays four games agains each of...
  14. C

    Impulse basketball homework Question

    Hello, I am (obviously) new to the forum. I am in an introductory-level physics course in university and although I had taken a year of physics in high school, these easy intro questions on my homework keep snagging me. This is online homework and I get 5 attempts at the correct solutions...
  15. J

    Projectile motion basketball question

    [SOLVED] Projectile motion question Homework Statement A 2.291m tall man shoots a ball at 19m/s at an angle of 74 degrees above the horizontal into a hoop that is 3.048m tall, how long does it take the ball to reach its max height? To reach the hoop? What is the horizontal length of the...
  16. A

    Playing basketball on the moon?

    If the gravitational field strenght is weaker than that of earth, then less force is required to do a certain amount of work than required on earth. So my question is, Would our movements be faster? Like dribbling and hand movements and running?
  17. B

    Expansion of a basketball with temperature

    Another problem with an equation I don't know.I'm sooo going to fail this test if I don't get some help... A basketball with a volume of 4.75 Liters is left in a car when the temperature is 298 K. What will the volume of the ball be as the car heats up to 309 K during the day?
  18. N

    Basketball on a merry-go-round

    Homework Statement Consider children playing on a merry-go-round that is 6m in diameter, turning at 10 revolutions per minute. What will be the Coriolis force observed on a 600-gram basketball thrown with a horizontal speed of 5m/s? It is thrown between two children on opposite ends of a...
  19. B

    Basketball Dribbling: Does the Ball Come to Rest?

    Hello all, I officiate high school and college basketball. One of our rules concerning a dribble states that any time the ball comes to rest in a dribbler's hand, it is a violation. I won't concern you with all of the details of our argument, but I will pose a question that if answered like I...
  20. B

    Basketball Rules: When Does a Ball Come to Rest?

    Hello all, I officiate high school and college basketball. One of our rules concerning a dribble states that any time the ball comes to rest in a dribbler's hand, it is a violation. I won't concern you with all of the details of our argument, but I will pose a question that if...
  21. ~christina~

    Projectile basketball player

    [SOLVED] projectile basketball player... Homework Statement In a jump to dunk a ball, a basketball star has a flight time of 0.852s (hang time) His motion through space can be modeled as that of a particle at a point called his center of mass. His center of mass is at elevation of 1.02m when...
  22. ~christina~

    How Do You Calculate the Flight and Impact of a Basketball Shot?

    [SOLVED] projectile basketball Homework Statement A 40kg basketball player executes a impressive shot. The play-by-play commentator describing the live action says that the student launched herself at an angle of 35 degrees releasing the ball when she was a horizontal distance of 4.31m from...
  23. M

    Find Initial Speed for Olympic Basketball Player to Score

    Homework Statement An Olympic basketball player shoots towards a basket that is 5.80 m horizontally from her and 3.05 m above the floor. The ball leaves her hand 1.94 m above the floor at an angle of 64.0 degree above the horizontal. What initial speed should she give the ball so that it...
  24. M

    Kinematics - How long does this basketball take to fall down

    I have no idea how to even begin this problem: At the beginning of a basketball game, a referee tosses the ball straight up with the speed of 4.6 m/s. A player cannot touch the ball until after it reaches its maximum height and begins to fall down. What is the minimum time that a player must...
  25. D

    Vertical displacement basketball problem

    Two basketball players are essentially equal in all respects. (They are the same height, they jump with the same initial velocity, etc.) In particular, by jumping they can raise their centers of mass the same vertical distance, H (called their "vertical leap"). The first player, Arabella...
  26. L

    Standard Deviation of basketball player height

    Homework Statement The mean height of players in a basketball competition is 184 cm. If the standard deviation is 5 cm, what percentage of them are likely to be: a) taller than 189 cm b) taller than 179 cm c) between 174 cm and 199 cm d) over 199 cm cm tall? Homework Equations...
  27. F

    Basketball collision with backboard

    Hi first post here:smile: , I am writing an essay on the physics of the basketball shot and I'm stuck on the backboard collision. As I understand it: Starting with no spin on the basketball it follows a trajectory path until it reaches the backboard and collides with it. During this...
  28. I

    Glad to have this tool (another basketball problem)

    May I first of all prelude this by saying that Physics has been a huge challenge for me. So, baby steps please. Homework Statement 2.05-m-tall basketball player takes a shot when he is 6.02 m from the basket. If the launch angle is 25 degrees and the ball was launched at the level of the...
  29. Gib Z

    New Basketball: I Got a Nike 2000!

    This is really random, but I just got a new basketball today! Yay! Its a Nike 2000 and if there was ever a ball that was sexy, this would be it. Im still terrible at basketball though, anyone here play?
  30. W

    Does Rolling a Basketball on Roadbase Compare to a Golf Ball on AstroTurf?

    Greetings, My first post here so be gentle.:smile: I want to analyse the relationship between a basketball and then a golf ball rolling down a 4% slope for a distance of 20metres. There is an added complication that the basketball will roll on compacted roadbase and the golf ball will...
  31. T

    Basketball Problem: Initial Speed to Make Shot

    Homework Statement A basketball player who is 2.00 m tall is standing on the floor L = 8.0 m from the basket, as in Figure P4.54. If he shoots the ball at a 30.0° angle with the horizontal, at what initial speed must he throw so that it goes through the hoop without striking the backboard...
  32. S

    Magnitude of the Force of a kick to a basketball

    Homework Statement A 0.5 kg basketball is rolling by you at 3.9 m/s. As it goes by, you give it a quick kick perpendicular to its path. Your foot is in contact with the ball for 0.002 s. The ball eventually rolls at an angle of theta = 24 degrees from its original direction. Homework...
  33. D

    How Long Does the Basketball Stay in the Air?

    A basketball player shoots a ball at an angle of 60 with an initial velocity of 7.0 m/s. The ball was 2.0m above the ground when released and the basket was 3.00m high. How long was the ball in the air? Here is what i did so far: y-axis...
  34. D

    Basketball Question: Initial Velocity for 2.00 m Player 10.0 m from Basket

    4.54) A basketball player who is 2.00 m tall is standing on the floor 10.0 m from the basket, as in Figure P4.54. If he shoots the ball at a 40.0 degree angle with the horizontal, at what initial speed must he throw so that it goes through the hoop without striking the the backboard? The basket...
  35. M

    Re: Basketball player jumps

    A 93.7 kg basketball player can leap straight up in the air to a height of 83.7 cm, as shown below. The player bends his legs until the upper part of his body is dropped by 58.1 cm, then he begins his jump. With what speed must the player leave the ground to reach a height of 83.7 cm? I'm...
  36. M

    Energy conservation of basketball problem

    My professor insists on lecturing about tension and pulleys all week, then he assigns us problems that have no relation to lecture :rolleyes: I'm having trouble with a few problems, hopefully you can help me. Grant Hill jumps 1.2 m straight up into the air to slam-dunk a basketball into...
  37. P

    Jump Time: Analyzing a Basketball Player's Vertical Leap

    Here with a question, and I'm a bit crunched for time. I'm also here to learn, too. A basketball player, standing near the basket to grab a rebound, jumps 76.0 cm vertically. How much total time does the player spend (a) in the top 15.0 cm of this jump and (b) in the bottom 15.0 cm? Does this...
  38. U

    Calculating Initial Velocity to Make a 10m Basketball Shot

    a basketball player is 1.9m tall, wants to make a basket 10m away. the basket is 3.05m tall. gravity is 9.8, if he shoots from a height of 1.91m at 33.3 degree angle, what initial speed is thrown to make a basket? i have no clue how to find initial velocity when it isn't given.
  39. K

    Projectile Motion basketball shot

    eek. I need help. A basketball player shoots a basketball into a hoop to score a "point". The height of the hoop is 3m. The shooter stands 15 m from the basket and shoots the ball at a 55 degree andle from the horizontal. Assume the height of player is 0. Need to find: 1) The...
  40. Q

    Basketball player jump physics problem

    Would somebody be able to go over my answers to this question. There are a couple of them that I am not sure of. Thank you! A 100kg baseketball player can leap straight up in the air to a height of 80cm. You can undersdand how by analyzing the situation as follows: a. The player bends his...
  41. E

    A project about Basketball Player

    My physics teacher assign us a big project relate to tcareers in physic, i choose basketball player, and in order to write a written summary for this project, i need more accurate information about it. Particularly Equation and some effective diagram! i found a lot of information for now...
  42. T

    Mechanical energy of a basketball

    Help! I don't understand how to do this problem: A basketball of mass 0.50 kg is dropped from rest from a height of 1.22 m. It rebounds to a height of 0.40 m. (a) How much mechanical energy was lost during the collision with the floor? (b) A basketball player dribbles the ball from a...
  43. R

    Calculating Time and Distance for Basketball Throw

    nelect: air friction your teacher tosses a basketball. the ball gets through the hoop(lucky shot). the man stand 2.746 m and the throws the ball at an angle of 53 degrees with a velocity of 16 m/s, the hoop is 3.048 m. note: the distance he is from the hook is not given. the time it takes...
  44. S

    Basketball throw physics Problem

    :rolleyes: A basketball player throws the ball at a 38 degree angle to a hoop which is located a horizontal distance L=7.0m from the point of release, and at a height h=0.3m above it. What is the required speed if the basketball is to reach the hoop? help please o:)
  45. P

    Basketball software for coaches

    For a few years now I have, for my own amusement, been creating small games in order to learn how to program. Now that we, in our school, have to make some kind of mandatory project I felt like my only choice could be one in programming. My basketball coach mentioned the need for some kind of...
  46. P

    Basketball software for coaches

    For a few years now I have, for my own amusement, been creating small games in order to learn how to program. Now that we, in our school, have to make some kind of mandatory project I felt like my only choice could be one in programming. My basketball coach mentioned the need for some kind of...
  47. W

    Calculating Basketball Player's Hang Time

    A basketball player jumps 1 meter high off the ground, turns around and starts back down. Estimate the time she is within 30 cm of the top of her trajectory (her hang time.) (HINT: Calculate the time it takes to fall 30 cm from rest and double it.) Explain why that works note...
  48. anil

    Angular speeds and a basketball

    I don't know how to solve the following problem: A basketball rolls along the floor with a constant linear speed V. (a) Find the fraction of its total kinetic energy that is in form of rotational kinetic energy about the center of ball. I think the answer is 2/5. But i don't know how to...
  49. P

    Music Sports Music: Identifying the Songs at Basketball & Hockey Games

    What musics do they usually play at Basketball, Hockey, games?? I heard them a lot, just didn't know what the names are.
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