Basketball – Interesting and Fun Facts

Basketball is a team sport in which they compete against each other for two teams of five.

The team that hits the basket the most times wins. More information on the rules of the game can be found in the “Questions and Answers” section.

Basketball interesting facts

1. The game of basketball was invented by Canadian physician James Naismith. Working as a physical education teacher, he was asked to come up with a game for students bored with constant boxing and wrestling training. The first game took place on December 21, 1891. Two 9-person teams took part in it. The match lasted about 30 minutes and reportedly ended with the score … 1-0. William Chase is considered the first person to score a point in basketball history.

2. Initially, basketball games were played with football.

3. The tallest basketball player in the world playing in the NBA is Gheorghe Mureșan from Romania. His height is 231 cm. He is the tallest man in the European Union. Interestingly, it is only 6.5 mm taller than the Sudanese Manute Bola.

4. The tallest professional basketball player in the world is Chinese Sun Mingming, 236 cm tall. On the day of adding this curiosity (October 9, 2020), he was 27th in the list of the tallest people in the world.

5. The basketball should be orange in official matches. This color is clearly visible, which is advantageous for viewers during fast play.

6. There are over 400 million professional basketball players in the world.

7. Basketball first appeared at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. The United States won and defended the title six times in the following years.

8. The United States is the best basketball team in history. At 19 starts at the Olympics, they became champions 15 times.

9. Women’s basketball appeared at the 1976 Olympics. The representatives of the United States became the champions out of 11 starts.

10. The most famous basketball league in the world – the National Basketball Association (NBA) was established in 1949 after the merger of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Basketball Association of America (BAA).

11. Polish girl Małgorzata Dydek was the tallest basketball player in the world. She was 218 cm.

12. In the first rules of basketball, a player with the ball could not move. The possibility of dribbling was introduced in 1896. It was then possible to make 1 trestle.

13. Free throws were first introduced in 1894.

14. Before the first game in history, Naismith wrote 13 Basketball Rules. This record has been preserved to this day. In 2010, it was sold at an auction for $ 4.3 million.

15. Until 1895, you got 3 points for hitting the basket.

16. On March 22, 1893, the first women’s match took place.

17. The first country in Europe where a basketball game was played was France (1893).

18. The 24-second rule was introduced in the NBA in 1954. Two years later, FIBA ​​introduced the 30 second rule.

19. 3-point kicks were introduced only in 1979. FIBA accepted the idea in 1984.

20. In Poland, the first basketball game took place on June 29, 1909 in Lviv. Interestingly, it was a women’s match.

21. As of October 1, 2003, the time on demand has been increased from four to five.

Added: Mati

22.

Incredible NBA records

There have been many records in the history of the NBA that will most likely never be broken. One of them is the lowest score established in 1950. The Fort Wayne Pistons team defeated the Minneapolis Lakers 19 to 18.

23. On December 30, 1990, Scott Skiles, who played for the Orlando Magic team, set the record for the most assists in the NBA – 30. His team scored as many as 155 points in this match.

24. Wilt Chamberlain, who played for the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1961-62 season, played all games with an average time spent on the court of 48.5 minutes (99.8% of the possible playing time). He was only 8 minutes off the pitch.

25. In the 1947/48 season, Giff Roux, who played in the St. Louis Bombers tried to score a free kick 20 times in one game and never missed. His team lost the game with a difference of 4 points.

26. Cal Bowdler, who played for the Atlanta Hawks team in 1999, as the only player in the history of the NBA, was penalized 7 times for a foul. This was due to a judge’s mistake who miscalculated the number of his offenses.

27. Wilt Chamberlain in the years 1959 – 1969 played 118 matches in which he scored over 50 points. For comparison, Michael Jordan, who was taking 2nd place, played “only” 39 such games. Interestingly, in the 1961-62 season alone, Wilt Chamberlain played 45 such matches, achieving an amazing average of 50.4 points per game.

28. Bill Russell, the first black coach in NBA history in 1957, 1959-66, 1968-69 won the championship 11 times with the Boston Celtics (twice as a playing coach).

29. Klay Thompson, who plays for the Golden State Warriors team, on January 23, 2015, in the third quarter, scored a record number of points – 37 (out of 41 scored by the team). This quarter also saw the second record for the lowest number of points lost. The opponents managed to get only 9 of them.

30. The longest winning streak belongs to the Los Angeles Lakers. From November 5, 1971 to January 7, 1972, they won 33 matches.

31. In the 1968/69 season, Walt Bellamy played the greatest number of matches in history, as many as 88. This result was only possible due to the fact that, by changing the club in the middle of the season, his new team had 6 matches left behind.

32. On November 10, 1990, the Phoenix Suns scored a record 107 points in the first half against the Denver Nuggets. The match ended with the score 173-143.

33. The infamous record for the fastest player penalized for personal fouls belongs to the Dallas Mavericks player Bubba Wells. He was “thrown out” after 2 minutes and 43 seconds of the game.

34. On March 27, 1998, a record number of spectators came to the game of the Chicago Bulls against the Atlanta Hawks – 62,046.

35. The Denver Nuggets team scored over 100 points in 136 consecutive matches from January 21, 1981 to December 8, 1982. Since then, the longest such series was 37 matches.

36. John Stockton has received the most assists in NBA history. In the period from 1984 to 2003, he gathered 15,806 of them.

37. The player Moses Malone received the most rebounds in the history of the NBA. Between 1976 and 1995, he gathered 7,382 of them.

38. The highest number of points in his career was scored by Robert Parish – 23,334 (in the years 1976-97). The players who played in the previous years had a difficult task because there were no kicks for 3 points.

39. AC Green played 1,192 games in a row in 1985-2001. Interestingly, throughout his 16-year career, he missed only 3 matches.

40. On January 9, 2011, Joel Anthony spent 29 minutes on the pitch in the Miami Heat – Trail Blazers match. Interestingly, during this time he did not score any point, rebound, intercept, assist or block. All he did apart from running was 4 fouls.

41. In the 2008/09 season, Jose Calderon had a record-breaking performance in personal kicks. Hit 151 times out of 154 attempts (98.1% effectiveness).

42. On December 17, 1991, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Miami Heat with the highest point lead in NBA history – 68 (148 to 80).

43. On November 27, 1996, the Utah Jazz team accomplished the impossible. She made up for a loss of 36 points after the first half (70-34), winning the match 103-107.

Added: NBAfan

Basketball questions and answers

What is the basket diameter?

The basket has a diameter of 46 cm (18 inches).

Answer: Mati

At what height is the basket placed?

The basket is located at a height of 3,048 meters (10 feet).

Answer: Mati

What are the dimensions of the array?

The board is 180 cm wide and 105 cm high. It has a black rectangle 59 cm wide and 45 cm high. It is located 15 cm above the bottom edge.

Answer: Mati

Why is an additional black rectangle marked on the board?

It helps to hit the target. The ball bounces off this rectangle and in most cases ends up in the basket.

Answer: Mati

How are throws scored?

For a hit in the game the players receive 2 points, for a free throw – 1 point and for a throw from behind the line 6.25 m – 3 points.

Answer: Mati

What are the dimensions of a basketball?

Men play with size 7 balls (circumference: 74.9-78 cm, weight: 567-650 g) and women play with balls size 6 (circumference: 72.4-73-7 cm, weight: 510-567 g).

Answer: Mati

How many substitutions are allowed in a basketball game?

The number of changes is unlimited. Entering the court is possible during interruption of play, with the consent of the assistant referee.

Answer: Mati

How do I check if my basketball is properly inflated?

A correctly inflated ball, dropped from a height of 180 cm, should bounce to a height of 120-140 cm.

Answer: Mati

How long is a basketball game?

A match consists of 4 quarters of 10 minutes each. In case of a tie, 5-minute overtime is played until the winner is determined.

Answer: Mati

How long is the break in a basketball game?

The breaks between the 1st and 2nd quarter and the 3rd and 4th quarter are 2 minutes long. Between 2 and 3 it takes 15 minutes. The intervals between overtime periods are 2 minutes.

Answer: Mati

What are the dimensions of the basketball court?

The size of the pitch varies from federation to federation. FIBA (International Basketball Federation) and WNBA – 28 x 15 m, NBA – 28.65 x 15.24 m, NCAA -25.6 x 15.24 m.

Answer: Mati

What are the main basketball positions?

Playmaker, shooting defender, low winger, strong winger and center-winger.

Answer: Mati

How many referees are needed to conduct a match?

There must be a main referee and one or two referees on the field. Additionally, there must be three or four judges, the so-called “coffee tables”.

Answer: Mati

How far is the 3-point throw?

In NBA it is 7.24 m, and in FIBA ​​- 6.25 m.

Answer: Mati