NBA is an American professional basketball league. It has thirty teams in the United States and one in Canada. The league is considered the premier men’s basketball league in North America. It has a rich history, including legends like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James. It also has many popular fantasy leagues that allow fans to compete against others in a variety of ways.
Basketball is played with two teams of five players on each side of the court. The game is won by scoring more points than the other team in a period of four quarters (eight minutes each) and an overtime period. Players score by throwing the ball through a basket, methods varying with players and situations. A player’s teammates may assist on the shot by rebounding, setting up a teammate for a basket, or making a blocked shot.
The sport of basketball began in the United States, where it was invented by a Canadian expatriate named James Naismith. He nailed a peach basket onto an elevated track and created the rules by which the game is played. Originally, the basket had a bottom that needed to be manually pulled out after each basket scored. Later, the bottom was removed and the ball could be poked out with a long dowel after each basket.
Initially, a player was disqualified after collecting two fouls in a game; this limit rose to four fouls in 1911 and to five fouls in 1945. The NBA added the 24-second shot clock in 1954 to speed up play and encourage teams to shoot more frequently.
NBA players are divided into five positions: the tallest and strongest is the center, a slightly shorter but more agile player is the power forward, a short but skilled ball handler is the small forward, and the shortest and best ball-handler is the point guard. Each position has a specific role in implementing the coach’s game plan. Often, players change positions or shift responsibilities during games to take advantage of their strengths and counter the weaknesses of their opponents.
A game’s outcome can be influenced by missed or ambiguous calls from referees. This is especially true in close games or when a team is trying to overcome an early deficit. However, the NBA, which keeps a running tally of errors but does not make it public, claims that miscalls are no more frequent this season than in previous ones. Nevertheless, these errors can have a dramatic effect on the outcome of a game. For example, in the recent preseason matchup between Boston and the Celtics, a controversial call led to a Boston technical. The Celtics then went on to win the game.