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Basketball: fun facts and quiz
The essentials in 7 ideas, with fun facts, an illustrated story and a quiz to see how much you know.
The essentials
Invented in a Gym
Basketball was invented in 1891 by James Naismith, a teacher in Massachusetts, who nailed peach baskets to a gym balcony.
Key fact
Someone had to fetch the ball out of the basket after every score.
The Basics
Two teams of five try to shoot the ball through a hoop 3.05 metres high. Shots from beyond the arc score three points.
Key fact
The hoop has stayed 10 feet (3.05 m) high since the very beginning.
The NBA
The NBA, founded in 1946, is the world’s top basketball league. The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers have won the most titles.
Key fact
NBA players average about 2 metres tall.
Legends
Michael Jordan won six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls. LeBron James became the NBA’s all-time top scorer in 2023.
Key fact
Wilt Chamberlain once scored 100 points in a single game, in 1962.
A Global Game
Basketball is played in over 200 countries. Stars like Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol and Nikola Jokić show how global the NBA has become.
Key fact
Basketball has been an Olympic sport since 1936.
The Three-Point Revolution
Teams now shoot far more three-pointers than in the past, led by stars like Stephen Curry, who holds the NBA record for career three-pointers.
Key fact
The NBA added the three-point line in 1979.
Women’s Basketball
The WNBA launched in 1997. Stars like Diana Taurasi and Caitlin Clark have drawn record crowds and TV audiences.
Key fact
The USA women’s team has won every Olympic gold since 1996.
Fun facts
The very first basketball game was played with a football, and ended 1–0.
At first, dribbling wasn’t allowed: players could only pass the ball.
The NBA logo’s silhouette is widely said to be based on the player Jerry West.
Michael Jordan didn’t make his school’s top team at his first try, as a 15-year-old.
The first Olympic basketball final, in 1936, was played outdoors on a clay tennis court, in the rain.
The first NBA three-pointer, in 1979, was scored by Chris Ford of the Boston Celtics.
In 2024, Caitlin Clark became the top scorer in US college basketball history, then joined the WNBA.
Story: Two Weeks to Invent a Game
Two Weeks to Invent a Game
December 1891, Springfield, Massachusetts. Teacher James Naismith has two weeks to invent an indoor game for a rowdy class, stuck inside all winter.
He writes 13 rules and nails two peach baskets to the balcony of the gym. The school secretary types the rules up and pins them to the wall.
The game spread fast. In 1936, Naismith watched basketball become an Olympic sport, at the Berlin Games.
True or false?
Tap your answer to see if you got it, and why.
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Question 1 of 10
Basketball was invented by a teacher.
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True. James Naismith, in Massachusetts.
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Question 2 of 10
A basketball team has five players on court.
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True. Plus substitutes.
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Question 3 of 10
The Celtics and Lakers are among the most successful NBA teams.
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True. They have won the most titles.
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Question 4 of 10
LeBron James became the NBA’s all-time top scorer.
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True. In 2023.
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Question 5 of 10
Basketball has been in the Olympics since 1936.
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True. At the Berlin Games.
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Question 6 of 10
The NBA introduced the three-point line in 1979.
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True. It changed the game.
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Question 7 of 10
The WNBA launched in 1997.
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True. The top women’s league.
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Question 8 of 10
The first baskets were metal hoops with open nets.
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False. They were peach baskets.
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Question 9 of 10
Every basket is worth ten points.
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False. Baskets are worth one, two or three points.
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Question 10 of 10
The NBA is a European football league.
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False. It’s North America’s basketball league.
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