Basketball is played between two teams of five players, each trying to score by shooting a ball through a hoop fixed 3.05 metres above the floor at either end of the court.
Objective
The objective is to score more points than the opposition by the end of the match, by putting the ball through the opponent’s basket while defending your own.
Rules and regulations
- FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, governs the sport worldwide and sets the rules used everywhere outside the NBA, which follows its own similar but separate rulebook.
- Under FIBA rules, a match consists of four quarters of ten minutes each, compared with twelve-minute quarters in the NBA.
- A team in possession has 24 seconds to attempt a shot, a period that resets to 14 seconds after an offensive rebound.
- Once a team has committed more than four fouls in a quarter, the opposition begins shooting bonus free throws for further fouls in that quarter.
- A player is disqualified from the game after five personal fouls under FIBA rules, or six in the NBA.
- Common violations include travelling, double-dribbling and taking the ball back over the halfway line after crossing it.
- FIBA updates its rulebook every few years, with the 2024 edition refining details such as the use of instant replay and coach challenges.
Equipment and playing area
- A FIBA court measures 28 metres by 15 metres, with a hard, flat surface marked out for the key, the free-throw line and the three-point arc.
- The three-point line sits 6.75 metres from the basket, though it is closer near the corners of the court.
- The ball is made of leather or a composite material, with a size 7 ball used in men’s competition and a size 6 ball in women’s.
Scoring
- A basket scored from inside the three-point arc is worth two points, one scored from beyond it is worth three, and a free throw is worth one point.
- Whichever team has more points when the final buzzer sounds wins, and if scores are level the game goes to five-minute overtime periods until there is a winner.
- Basketball has grown steadily in India in recent years, helped by domestic leagues and NBA outreach programmes, with the Basketball Federation of India running the sport nationally.
