Basketball court
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In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting 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. Amatuer players would typically use tarmac as the surface.
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 highschool court is slightly smaller, at 84 ft by 50 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 and backboard
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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. The bottom block to the baseline is 4 feet. The lane is also known as the key or the paint, especially in play-by-play calling or post-game analysis. A jump shot from around the free throw line is often called "from the top of the key," and the number of lay-ups, dunks and other short-range shots are often referred to as "points in the paint."
[edit] Three point arc
The distance to the three point arc has changed several times in the history of basketball. The rules for the international, United States amateur, and National Basketball Association versions of the game each specify distinct distances. In the 1979-1980 season, the NBA adopted a three-point arc that was a variable distance, ranging from 22 feet in the corners to 23'9" behind the top of the key. The line was briefly moved in to a uniform 22 feet during the 1990s before being restored to its original distance.
In college basketball, as well as in most high school associations in the United States, the distance is 19’ 9". The international distance, used in most countries outside the United States and in FIBA competition, 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. (some times depending on the group of people playing, you can play 4v4, 3v3, which is most common and 2v2)(1v1 may be played on a halfcourt basketball,area but it maybe to large of an area depending on the two components playing .)
