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Interesting Facts About Basketball

Sebastian Langer 0

Basketball is one those games that everyone loves to play.  People can be seen playing it in the streets, back yards and on the courts.  It can easily be played both indoors and outdoors and it also attracts as many bettors as the NRL Premiership odds do.  Here are some interesting facts about the game.

About The Game

James Naismith who was a physical education teacher from Springfield, Massachusetts, invented basketball.  He invented the game in 1892 as a way to keep his gym class busy on days when the weather was not good.

The very first basketball hoops were actually peach baskets and after each successful hoop the officials had to retrieve the ball.  String nets were only used from the 1900s.  During the years 1891 to 1950 soccer balls were used to play with and the players would use coal dust to get a better grip on the ball.

When a basketball is warm is has more bounce and that is due to the molecules in the ball hitting the inside of the ball at a higher speed.

NBA basketball courts are all made from maple wood, which is not only strong, it is flexible which enables players to jump and land safely.

When basketball first came out dribbling was not an important part of the game.  A player who caught the ball would only be allowed to go a few steps and then have to throw the ball.  In modern basketball dribbling is a vital aspect of the game.

About The Players

In 2004 a huge fight broke out which involved both spectators and players, it was known as the Pacers-Piston altercation or “Malice in the Palace”.  The NBA then suspended 9 players resulting in a loss of $11 million in salaries.  Five of the spectators were also brought up on criminal charges and banned from Piston games forever.

Allen Ray had a terrible accident during a college tournament in 2006.  His eye popped out during the game after a Pittsburgh player injured him.  Fortunately, doctors were able to put the eye back in.

There are a few players who will make a fall look far worse than it actually is to make it look like a foul.  This is known as a “flop.”

The first female basketball player to play for the Globetrotter’s was Lynette Woodward.  Kareem Abdul-Jabaar has played 20 NBA seasons and has scored 38 387 points.

An average NBA player is able to jump about 28 inches from the ground.

Michael Jordan’s basketball shoe, Air Jordan is the best-selling shoe of all time.  The NBA initially banned them and each time Michael Jordan wore them he was fined.  He continued to wear them and just paid the fine each time.  The shoes were later unbanned by the NBA.

Many sports professionals have certain superstitions.  Jason Terry would sleep in the shorts of the opposing team that he would be playing the following day.  In 2011 he won an NBA title with the Mavericks.

During the 2010-2011 season a record was set by the Cleveland Cavaliers when they lost 26 games in a row.

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