Basketball court
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, conisting of a rectangular floor with baskets at either end. In professional or organized basketball, especially when played indoors, it is usually made out of a hardwood, often maple, and highly polished. For outdoor courts, asphalt, blacktop, or similar materials are used.
The object of the game is to throw the ball through the baskets at either end of the court. When the game was first invented, actual baskets were used. Dr. James Naismith's original rules specified that "A goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the grounds into the basket and stays there, providing those defending the goal do no touch or disturb the goal." [1] However, because it proved to be inconvenient to continually retrieve the ball from the baskets, the baskets were soon replaced by metal hoops (usually with dangling netting attached to direct the ball straight down.) The hoops are attached to rectangular (or sometimes fanshaped) backboards.
The basketball court comes in different shapes and sizes. In the National Basketball Association, the court is 94 feet long by 50 feet wide (28.65 m by 15.24 m). A FIBA court is slightly smaller, at 28 m by 15 m. In amateur basketball, court sizes vary widely. The baskets are always 10 feet (3.05m) above the floor (except possibly in youth competition.)
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[edit] Diagram of basketball court in accordance with rules of the International Basketball Federation
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Layout prescribed by the rules of the International Basketball Federation
[edit] Free throw lane
The free throw lane is 12 feet wide and 15 feet long. The distance from the free throw line to the three-point line is 4 feet 9 inches long. The bottom block to the baseline is 4 feet. The center circle's diameter is 12 feet, which is where they have the jump ball to start the game.
[edit] Three point arc
The distance to the three point arc has changed twice in the history of basketball. In the 1979-1980 season the three-point arc was moved back to its original 23’ 9", while the college range is 19’ 9", and the international distance is 20’ 6".
[edit] Half court basketball
During halfcourt basketball, where only half of the court is used, a player must return to the area beyond the free throw circle (or the three-point line, depending on playing preference) before his or her team can score.
