Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world. It is a game played between two teams of five players on each side of the court. Each player falls into one of the five playing positions: the tallest and strongest is the center, the second-tallest but less strong is the power forward, the shortest but best ball handler is the small forward, and the fastest and most skillful are the shooting guard and point guard.
Basketball became very popular in the United States after World War II, when many soldiers returned home to play the sport they had fought for. There were a number of different leagues and associations that began to organize games between professional and amateur teams in various cities and towns throughout the country. In 1946, the National Basketball Association was founded. It became the first American professional basketball league to be broadcast nationally.
The NBA is a worldwide organization that exports games and content to fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 50 languages. It is the only major professional sports league in North America that features a full schedule of regular-season games and playoffs. The league also holds an annual All-Star Game, in which the All-Stars of each conference compete against one another.
In addition to the 82-game regular season, the NBA features a postseason tournament where each team plays its rival in a series of best-of-seven games to determine the championship. The teams are seeded according to their finish in the regular season, and a team must win four of seven games to advance to the next round.
In order to prevent excessive contact, there are a number of rules that govern the game. These include the cylinder principle, which states that a player may not occupy a position on the court that is essentially an undefended cylinder for his or her opponent (e.g., standing in the restricted area known as the free-throw lane). The rules also limit how long a player can stay with the ball before shooting (8 seconds in FIBA and NBA play, 10 seconds in high school and college for both sexes), and the amount of time he or she must wait before attempting to shoot. These rules are designed to encourage more offense and help prevent defensive lapses that would otherwise result in a foul.
The nba is famous for its superstars, and the game is watched in almost every country in the world by some group of enthusiastic fans. It is an exciting and fast-paced sport, and the NBA has a reputation for being one of the most televised games in all of professional sports. Some of the greatest players in NBA history are George Mikan, the first dominating “big man”; the versatile Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics; crowd-pleasing guards Oscar Robertson and Jerry West; and more recent big men Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, and Hakeem Olajuwon. These stars dominated the NBA in their primes and left behind a legacy of excitement and highlight-reel plays that still attract spectators to games today.