Basketball

1) define & know the objectives of Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules.

A game played between two teams of five players each, the object being to throw a ball through an elevated basket on the opponent's side of a rectangular court. Players may move the ball by dribbling or passing with the hands.

The ultimate objective of basketball, like most team sports, is to outscore your opponent. In basketball, players score points by throwing the ball through the basket, an act known as shooting.

2) Brief historical background of Basketball (local & int'l)

HISTORY (International)

James Naismith, a Canadian educator and sports recreationalist, invented the game of basketball in 1891 in response to a request by leaders of the YMCA to develop "a rigorous and interesting form of indoor entertainment." Naismith and his helpers spent 14 days in Springfield, MA, piecing together the rules for the game of basketball. It was initially played with nine players on the court per team and with peach baskets as hoops. The ball itself was a soccer ball.

Throughout its infancy, basketball was played by professionals who barn-stormed their way across the United States. The NBA was formed in 1946 and though the league produced some early stars and held competitive games, it lacked the exposure that the other major sports received. It wasn't until the late 1950s and the early 1960s that the NBA's popularity expanded as did that of the game of basketball itself, when Bill Russel and his Boston Celtics teams rang up eight consecutive championships.

Basketball is a game that is now played and enjoyed by people of all ages and sexes. The popularity of the game reached new heights in the late 1970s, due largely to the Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson match-up in the 1979 NCAA National Championship game. Bird's Indiana State...