About Basketball, the King among Games?

In barebones terms, basketball involves basketing a ball. Players have to toss up an inflated leather ball to put it in a basket held 10 feet up by boards on stands at opposing ends. The fun comes in the rules that we describe in the following paragraphs. The game is played by two five-player sides, each trying to put the ball in the opponent's basket. Each basket gets them 1 to 3 points, depending on the context.

The rules are interesting and make the game the dance it resembles. Players have to reach the opponent's basket by weaving through the defenders guarding it. They cannot hold the ball and run. Instead, to move, they must "dribble" the ball by bouncing it off the floor board using their hands palm-down. And once a player starts dribbling, she or he cannot stop dribbling. If a stop does occur, the player cannot resume dribbling and must either throw the ball at the basket or pass it to a teammate.

Defending team tries to prevent the ball-possessing opponents from basketing the ball. They can do this by "stealing" the ball from the ball handler or by "blocking" by deflecting a shot attempt. They can also get possession of the ball if the ball possessing team makes a mistake called "turnover" and when the opposing team has scored a basket.

By now you would have an idea of the kind of pace, speed of reflective action, agility, athleticism and even strength required of players to weave through the defenders and outsmart them to effect a basket. It is a team game and all players must work together to this end. Stars are of course there with the ability to basket the ball against impossible odds.

Hard work, intelligence and desire are essential to become a great basketball player, in addition to the athleticism and other attributes mentioned above. In an actual game, luck can also play a part.

It has been said that basketball is a simple game to learn but a difficult one to master. It is also a very popular game requiring little by way of equipment. Once you have a basketball court, all you need is a ball. Actually, you can practice basketing, a key skill, with just a hoop fixed ten feet high.

You can see people playing it everywhere, in driveways, parks, school yards and gyms. Young kids dream of becoming an iconic hero like Michael Jordan, and making millions of dollars in the bargain. For spectators, it is an intensely exciting game to watch the dancing athletes weaving around with incredible speed and agility dribbling the ball and scoring impossible baskets.