Basketball

SPORT
WRITTEN BY: 
 Robert G. Logan
 William George Mokray
 Larry W. Donald
LAST UPDATED: Jan 22, 2020 See Article History
Basketball, game played between two teams of five players each on a rectangular court,
usually indoors. Each team tries to score by tossing the ball through the opponent’s goal,
an elevated horizontal hoop and net called a basket.

March MadnessLouisville forward Chane Behanan (21) dunking over Michigan players during the NCAA men's
basketball championship game in Atlanta on April 8, 2013. Chris O'Meara/AP Images

The only major sport strictly of U.S. origin, basketball was invented by James
Naismith (1861–1939) on or about December 1, 1891, at the International Young Men’s
Christian Association (YMCA) Training School (now Springfield
College), Springfield, Massachusetts, where Naismith was an instructor in physical
education.
For that first game of basketball in 1891, Naismith used as goals two half-
bushel peach baskets, which gave the sport its name. The students were enthusiastic.
After much running and shooting, William R. Chase made a midcourt shot—the only score
in that historic contest. Word spread about the newly invented game, and numerous
associations wrote Naismith for a copy of the rules, which were published in the January
15, 1892, issue of the Triangle, the YMCA Training School’s campus paper.

James Naismith holding a ball and a peach basket, the first basketball equipment. UPI/Bettmann Archive

While basketball is competitively a winter sport, it is played on a 12-month basis—on

summer playgrounds, in municipal, industrial, and church halls, in school yards and family
driveways, and in summer camps—often on an informal basis between two or more
contestants. Many grammar schools, youth groups, municipal recreation centres,
churches, and other organizations conduct basketball programs for youngsters of less
than high school age. Jay Archer, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, introduced “biddy”
basketball in 1950 for boys and girls under 12 years of age, the court and equipment
being adjusted for size.
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History
The early years

In the early years the number of players on a team varied according to the number in the
class and the size of the playing area. In 1894 teams began to play with five on a side
when the playing area was less than 1,800 square feet (167.2 square metres); the number
rose to seven when the gymnasium measured from 1,800 to 3,600 square feet (334.5
square metres) and up to nine when the playing area exceeded that. In 1895 the number
was occasionally set at five by mutual consent; the rules stipulated five players two years
later, and this number has remained ever since.
 Players shooting into a closed-bottom peach basket in an outdoor game of basketball, 1892. Courtesy of the
Basketball Hall of Fame, Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.

Since Naismith and five of his original players were Canadians, it is not surprising
that Canada was the first country outside the United States to play the game. Basketball
was introduced in France in 1893, in England in 1894, in Australia, China, and India soon
thereafter, and in Japan in 1900.
While basketball helped swell the membership of YMCAs because of the availability of
their gyms, within five years the game was outlawed by various associations because
gyms that had been occupied by classes of 50 or 60 members were now monopolized by
only 10 to 18 players. The banishment of the game induced many members to terminate
their YMCA membership and to hire halls to play the game, thus paving the way to the
professionalization of the sport.
Originally, players wore one of three styles of uniforms: knee-length football trousers;
jersey tights, as commonly worn by wrestlers; or short padded pants, forerunners of
today’s uniforms, plus knee guards. The courts often were of irregular shape with
occasional obstructions such as pillars, stairways, or offices that interfered with play. In
1903 it was ruled that all boundary lines must be straight. In 1893 the Narragansett
Machinery Co. of Providence, Rhode Island, marketed a hoop of iron with a hammock
style of basket. Originally a ladder, then a pole, and finally a chain fastened to the bottom
of the net was used to retrieve a ball after a goal had been scored. Nets open at the
bottom were adopted in 1912–13. In 1895–96 the points for making a basket (goal, or field
goal) were reduced from three to two, and the points for making a free throw (shot
uncontested from a line in front of the basket after a foul had been committed) were
reduced from three to one.

Baskets were frequently attached to balconies, making it easy for spectators behind a
basket to lean over the railings and deflect the ball to favour one side and hinder the other;
in 1895 teams were urged to provide a 4-by-6-foot (1.2-by-1.8-metre) screen for the
purpose of eliminating interference. Soon after, wooden backboards proved more suitable.
Glass backboards were legalized by the professionals in 1908–09 and by colleges in
1909–10. In 1920–21 the backboards were moved 2 feet (0.6 metre), and in 1939–40 4
feet, in from the end lines to reduce frequent stepping out-of-bounds. Fan-shaped
backboards were made legal in 1940–41.
A soccer ball (football) was used for the first two years. In 1894 the first basketball was
marketed. It was laced, measured close to 32 inches (81 cm), or about 4 inches (10 cm)
larger than the soccer ball, in circumference, and weighed less than 20 ounces (567
grams). By 1948–49, when the laceless molded ball was made official, the size had been
set at 30 inches (76 cm).

The first college to play the game was either Geneva College (Beaver
Falls, Pennsylvania) or the University of Iowa. C.O. Bemis heard about the new sport at
Springfield and tried it out with his students at Geneva in 1892. At Iowa, H.F. Kallenberg,
who had attended Springfield in 1890, wrote Naismith for a copy of the rules and also
presented the game to his students. At Springfield, Kallenberg met Amos Alonzo Stagg,
who became athletic director at the new University of Chicago in 1892. The first college
basketball game with five on a side was played between the University of Chicago and the
University of Iowa in Iowa City on January 18, 1896. The University of Chicago won, 15–
12, with neither team using a substitute. Kallenberg refereed that game—a common
practice in that era—and some of the spectators took exception to some of his decisions.
The colleges formed their own rules committee in 1905, and by 1913 there were at least
five sets of rules: collegiate, YMCA–Amateur Athletic Union, those used by state militia
groups, and two varieties of professional rules. Teams often agreed to play under a
different set for each half of a game. To establish some measure of uniformity, the
colleges, Amateur Athletic Union, and YMCA formed the Joint Rules Committee in 1915.
This group was renamed the National Basketball Committee (NBC) of the United States
and Canada in 1936 and until 1979 served as the game’s sole amateur rule-making body.
In that year, however, the colleges broke away to form their own rules committee, and
during the same year the National Federation of State High School Associations likewise
assumed the task of establishing separate playing rules for the high schools. The National
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Rules Committee for men is a 12-member board
representing all three NCAA divisions. It has six members from Division I schools and
three each from Divisions II and III. It has jurisdiction over colleges, junior colleges, the
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and Armed Forces basketball.
There is a similar body for women’s play.
Growth of the game

Basketball grew steadily but slowly in popularity and importance in the United States and
internationally in the first three decades after World War II. Interest in the game deepened
as a result of television exposure, but with the advent of cable television, especially during
the 1980s, the game’s popularity exploded at all levels. Given a timely mix of spectacular
players—such as Earvin (“Magic”) Johnson, Julius Erving (“Dr. J”), Larry Bird, and Michael
Jordan—and the greatly increased exposure, basketball moved quickly to the forefront of
the American sporting scene, alongside such traditional leaders as baseball and football.
Four areas of the game developed during this period: U.S. high school and college
basketball, professional basketball, women’s basketball, and international basketball.

U.S. high school and college basketball

Basketball at the high school and college levels developed from a structured, rigid game in
the early days to one that is often fast-paced and high-scoring. Individual skills improved
markedly, and, although basketball continued to be regarded as the ultimate team game,
individualistic, one-on-one performers came to be not only accepted but used as an
effective means of winning games.
In the early years games were frequently won with point totals of less than 30, and the
game, from the spectator’s viewpoint, was slow. Once a team acquired a modest lead, the
popular tactic was to stall the game by passing the ball without trying to score, in an
attempt to run out the clock. The NBC, seeing the need to discourage such slowdown
tactics, instituted a number of rule changes. In 1932–33 a line was drawn at midcourt, and
the offensive team was required to advance the ball past it within 10 seconds or lose
possession. Five years later, in 1937–38, the centre jump following each field goal or free
throw was eliminated. Instead, the defending team was permitted to inbound the ball from
the out-of-bounds line underneath the basket. Decades passed before another alteration
of like magnitude was made in the college game. After experimentation, the NCAA Rules
Committee installed a 45-second shot clock in 1985 (reduced to 35 seconds in 1993),
restricting the time a team could control the ball before shooting, and one year later
it implemented a three-point shot rule for baskets made beyond a distance of 19.75 feet
(6.0 metres). In 2008 the three-point line was moved to 20.75 feet (6.3 metres) from the
basket.
More noticeable alteration in the game came at both the playing and coaching
levels. Stanford University’s Hank Luisetti was the first to use and popularize the one-hand
shot in the late 1930s. Until then the only outside attempts were two-handed push shots.
In the 1950s and ’60s a shooting style evolved from Luisetti’s push-off one hander to a
jump shot, which is released at the top of the jump. West Virginia University guard Jerry
West and Purdue University’s Rick Mount were two players who demonstrated the
devastating effectiveness of this shot.
Coaching strategy changed appreciably over the years. Frank W. Keaney, coach at
the University of Rhode Island from 1921 to 1948, is credited with introducing the concept
of “fast break” basketball, in which the offensive team rushes the ball upcourt hoping to
get a good shot before the defense can get set. Another man who contributed to a quicker
pace of play, particularly through the use of the pressure defense, was Adolph Rupp, who
became the University of Kentucky’s coach in 1931 and turned its program into one of the
most storied in basketball history.
Defensive coaching philosophy, similarly, has undergone change. Whereas pioneer
coaches such as Henry Iba of Oklahoma A&M University (now Oklahoma State
University) or Long Island University’s Clair Bee taught strictly a man-to-man defense,
the zone defense, developed by Cam Henderson of Marshall University in West Virginia,
later became an integral part of the game (see below Play of the game).
Over the years one of the rules makers’ chief concerns was to neutralize the advantage of
taller players. At 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 metres) Joe Lapchick was considered very tall when
he played for the Original Celtics in the 1920s, but, as even taller players appeared, rules
were changed in response. To prevent tall players from stationing themselves near the
basket, a rule was instituted in 1932–33 prohibiting the player with the ball from standing
inside the foul lane with his back to the basket for more than three seconds; the three-
second rule later applied to any attacking player in the foul lane. In 1937–38 a new rule
forbade any player from touching the ball when it was in the basket or on its rim (basket
interference), and in 1944–45 it became illegal for any defending player to touch the ball
on its downward flight toward the basket (goaltending).
Nevertheless, with each passing decade, the teams with the tallest players tended to
dominate. Bob Kurland (7 feet [2.13 metres]) led Oklahoma A&M to two NCAA
championships in the 1940s and led the nation in scoring in 1945–46. In the same
era George Mikan (6 feet 10 inches [2.08 metres]) scored more than 550 points in each of
his final two seasons at DePaul University before going on to play nine professional
seasons in which he scored more than 11,000 points. Mikan was an outstanding player,
not only because of his size but because of his ability to shoot sweeping hook shots with
both hands.

In the 1950s Bill Russell (6 feet 9 inches [2.06 metres]) led the University of San
Francisco to two NCAA championships before going on to become one of the greatest
centres in professional basketball history. Wilt Chamberlain (7 feet 1 inch [2.16 metres])
played at the University of Kansas before turning professional in the late 1950s and is
regarded as the greatest all-around big man ever to play. It remained, however, for Lew
Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), also 7 feet 1 inch, to most influence the rules. After
his sophomore year (1966–67) at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA),
the dunk shot was banned from collegiate basketball, ostensibly because the rules
committee felt, again, that the big men had too great an advantage. The rule
was rescinded beginning with the 1976–77 season, and the dunk shot became an
important part of the game, electrifying both fans and players.
So too have the small- and medium-size players affected the game’s development. Bob
Cousy, playing at Holy Cross College and later for the Boston Celtics, was regarded as
one of the game’s first great playmakers. He was among the first to use the behind-the-
back pass and between-the-legs dribble as effective offensive maneuvers. Later such
smaller players as Providence College’s Ernie DiGregorio, the University of North
Carolina’s Phil Ford, and Indiana’s Isiah Thomas proved the importance of their role.
Between those two extremes are players such as Louisiana State University’s Pete
Maravich, who set an all-time collegiate scoring record of 44.5 points per game in the
1969–70 season; Magic Johnson, the point guard who led Michigan State University to a
championship in 1979 and the Los Angeles Lakers to several NBA championships; Oscar
Robertson, a dominating performer for the University of Cincinnati in the late 1950s and
for the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1970s; Larry Bird of Indiana State University, a forward of
exceptional versatility who led the Boston Celtics to several championships; and Michael
Jordan, a great all-around player with the University of North Carolina in the 1980s who is
widely considered the best professional player in the history of the sport.
Nothing influenced the college game’s growth more than television, however.
The NCAA championship games were televised nationally from 1963, and by the 1980s all
three major television networks were telecasting intersectional college games during the
November-to-March season. Rights fees for these games soared from a few million
dollars to well over $50 million by the late 1980s. As for broadcasting the NCAA finals, a
television contract that began in 2003 gave the NCAA an average of $545 million per year
for the television rights; this exponential growth in broadcast fees reflected the importance
of these games to both networks and advertisers.

Profits such as these inevitably attract gamblers, and in the evolution of college basketball
the darkest hours have been related to gambling scandals. But, as the game began to
draw more attention and generate more income, the pressure to win intensified, resulting
in an outbreak of rules violations, especially with regard to recruitment of star players.

The most identifiable phase of college basketball in America is the postseason tournament
held in March—popularly known as March Madness. Interest in the NCAA tournament
paralleled the growth of the game. The first basketball tournament was staged by the
Amateur Athletic Union in 1897 and was won by New York City’s 23rd Street YMCA, later
to become a traveling professional team known as the New York Wanderers. Although the
YMCA was prominently identified with the game in its early years, it did not hold its first
national tournament until 1923, and that event took place until 1962. The first national
tournament for colleges was held in 1937 and was conducted by an organization in
Kansas City, Missouri, that later became the NAIA.
New York City basketball writers organized the first National Invitation Tournament (NIT)
in 1938, but a year later the New York City colleges took control of the event. Until the
early 1950s the NIT was considered the most prestigious American tournament, but, with
the growth of the college-run NCAA championship, the NIT became a consolation event
for teams that failed to make the NCAA selections.
The first NCAA tournament was played in 1939, and its growth took place in three stages.
The first era ran through 1964, when it was essentially a tournament for champions of
various conferences. There were just eight teams in the 1939 field, and by 1963 it had
been expanded to 25 teams, all champions of their respective conferences, plus several
successful independent teams. The most outstanding teams of the 1940s and ’50s
participated in both the NCAA and NIT tournaments, but, after the gambling scandals that
followed the 1950 NIT championship, a rule was passed prohibiting a team from playing in
both. Afterward the NCAA tournament progressively outgrew the NIT.
In 1964 the second era dawned as the UCLA Bruins, coached by John Wooden, began a
period of domination over the NCAA field. From that season until 1975 Wooden led his
teams to 10 NCAA championships. Only championships won by Texas Western University
(now University of Texas at El Paso) in 1966 and North Carolina State in 1974 interrupted
UCLA’s reign. In the eyes of many, the UCLA dynastic period probably had a regressive
effect on the game’s growth; a sport with such high predictability lost some of its
attractiveness.
The third growth stage came with the end of UCLA’s dominance. Champions began to
emerge from all sections of the country. From the field of 25 in 1974, the NCAA
tournament expanded to 64 participants in 1985, to 65 in 2001, and to 68 in 2011
(corresponding “play-in games” were added in 2001 and 2011), including not only
conference championship teams but other outstanding teams from the same conferences
as well. Three weeks of play culminate with the Final Four weekend, an event now
comparable in general public interest and media attention to the Super Bowl and World
Series. Championships at the Division II, Division III, and NAIA levels also continued to
grow in interest, reaping some of the fallout from the popularity of Division I.
About 17,000 high schools in the United States have basketball teams. All 50 states
conduct statewide tournaments annually.

U.S. professional basketball

The professional game first prospered largely in the Middle Atlantic and New
England states. Trenton (New Jersey) and the New York Wanderers were the first great
professional clubs, followed by the Buffalo (New York) Germans, who started out in 1895
as 14-year-old members of the Buffalo YMCA and, with occasional new members,
continued for 44 years, winning 792 out of 878 games.
A group of basketball stylists who never received the acclaim they deserved (because in
their heyday they played for various towns) consisted of Edward and Lew Wachter, Jimmy
Williamson, Jack Inglis, and Bill Hardman. They introduced the bounce pass and long
pass as offensive weapons and championed the rule (adopted 1923–24) that made each
player, when fouled, shoot his own free throw.

Before World War II the most widely heralded professional team was the Original Celtics,
which started out in 1915 as a group of youngsters from New York City, kept adding better
players in the early 1920s, and became so invincible that the team disbanded in 1928,
only to regroup in the early 1930s as the New York Celtics. They finally retired in 1936.
The Celtics played every night of the week, twice on Sundays, and largely on the road.
During the 1922–23 season they won 204 of 215 games.
Another formidable aggregation was the New York Renaissance (the Rens), organized by
Robert Douglas in 1923 and regarded as the strongest all-black team of all time. During
the 1925–26 campaign they split a six-game series with the Original Celtics. During the
1932–33 season the Rens won 88 consecutive games. In 1939 they defeated the Harlem
Globetrotters and the Oshkosh All Stars in the world championship pro tournament in
Chicago. Among the great professional clubs were the teams of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin,
and East Liverpool, Ohio, as well as the New York Nationals, the Paterson (New Jersey)
Crescents, and the South Philadelphia Hebrew All Stars—better known as the Sphas.

Reece ("Goose") Tatum of the Harlem Globetrotters holding the ball, 1952. UPI/Bettmann Archive

The first professional league was the National Basketball League (NBL), formed in 1898.
Its game differed from the college game in that a chicken-wire cage typically surrounded
the court, separating players from often hostile fans. (Basketball players were long
referred to as cagers.) The chicken wire was soon replaced with a rope netting, off which
the players bounced like prizefighters in a boxing ring. The cage also kept the ball from
going out-of-bounds, thus quickening the pace of play. In these early days players were
also permitted to resume dribbling after halting. Despite the lively action of the game, the
NBL and other early leagues were short-lived, mostly because of the frequent movement
of players, who sold their services on a per-game basis. With players performing for
several cities or clubs within the same season, the leagues suffered games of unreliable
quality and many financially unstable franchises.
The Great Depression of the 1930s hurt professional basketball, and a new NBL was
organized in 1937 in and around the upper Midwest. Professional basketball assumed
major league status with the organization of the new Basketball Association of America
(BAA) in 1946 under the guidance of Walter A. Brown, president of the Boston Garden.
Brown contended that professional basketball would succeed only if there were sufficient
financial support to nurse the league over the early lean years, if the game emphasized
skill instead of brawling, and if all players were restricted to contracts with a reserve rule
protecting each team from raiding by another club. Following a costly two-year feud, the
BAA and the NBL merged in 1949 to form the National Basketball Association (NBA).
To help equalize the strength of the teams, the NBA established an annual college draft
permitting each club to select a college senior in inverse order to the final standings in the
previous year’s competition, thus enabling the lower-standing clubs to select the more
talented collegians. In addition, the game was altered through three radical rule changes
in the 1954–55 season:

1. A team must shoot for a basket within 24 seconds after acquiring possession of the ball.
2. A bonus free throw is awarded to a player anytime the opposing team commits more than six
(later five, now four) personal fouls in a quarter or more than two personal fouls in an overtime
period.
3. Two free throws are granted for any backcourt foul.

After a struggle to survive, including some large financial losses and several short-lived
franchises, the NBA took its place as the major professional basketball league in the
United States. A rival 11-team American Basketball Association (ABA), with George
Mikan as commissioner, was launched in the 1967–68 season, and a bitter feud
developed with the NBA for the top collegiate talent each season. In 1976 the ABA
disbanded, and four of its teams were taken into the NBA.
The NBA grew increasingly popular through the 1980s. Attendance records were broken
in that decade by most of the franchises, a growth pattern stimulated at least in part by the
increased coverage by cable television. The NBA has a total of 30 teams organized into
Eastern and Western conferences and further divided into six divisions. In the Eastern
Conference the Atlantic Division comprises the Boston Celtics, the Brooklyn Nets,
the New York Knicks, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Toronto Raptors; the Central
Division is made up of the Chicago Bulls, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Detroit Pistons,
the Indiana Pacers, and the Milwaukee Bucks; the Southeast Division comprises
the Atlanta Hawks, the Charlotte Hornets, the Miami Heat, the Orlando Magic, and
the Washington Wizards. In the Western Conference the Southwest Division comprises
the Texas-based Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, and San Antonio Spurs,
the Memphis Grizzlies, and the New Orleans Pelicans; the Northwest Division is made up
of the Denver Nuggets, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Oklahoma City Thunder,
the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Utah Jazz; the Pacific Division comprises the Phoenix
Suns and the California-based Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles
Lakers, and Sacramento Kings. The play-offs follow the traditional 82-game schedule,
involving 16 teams and beginning in late April. Played as a best-of-seven series, the final
pairings stretch into late June.
Although basketball is traditionally a winter game, the NBA still fills its arenas and attracts
a national television audience in late spring and early summer. As the popularity of the
league grew, player salaries rose to an annual average of more than $5 million by mid-
2000s, and some superstars earned more than $20 million yearly. The NBA has a salary
cap that limits (at least theoretically, as loopholes allow many teams to exceed the cap)
the total amount a team can spend on salaries in any given season.

In 2001 the NBA launched the National Basketball Development League (NBDL). The
league served as a kind of “farm system” for the NBA. Through its first 50 years the NBA
did not have an official system of player development or a true minor league system for
bringing up young and inexperienced players such as exists in major league baseball.
College basketball has been the area from which the NBA did the vast majority of its
recruiting. By 2000 this had begun to change somewhat, as players began to be drafted
straight out of high school with increasing frequency. In 2005 the NBA instituted a rule
stipulating that domestic players must be at least age 19 and have been out of high school
for one year to be eligible for the draft, which in effect required players to spend at least
one year in college or on an international professional team before coming to the NBA.
U.S. women’s basketball
Clara Baer, who introduced basketball at the H. Sophie Newcomb College for Women in
New Orleans, influenced the women’s style of play with her set of women’s rules,
published in 1895. On receiving a diagram of the court from Naismith, Baer mistook dotted
lines, indicating the areas in which players might best execute team play, to be restraining
lines, with the result that the forwards, centres, and guards were confined to specified
areas. This seemed appropriate because many felt that the men’s game was too
strenuous for women.
Women’s rules over the years frequently have been modified. Until 1971 there were six
players on a team, and the court was so divided that the three forwards played in the
frontcourt and did all the scoring while the three guards covered the backcourt. Senda
Berenson staged the first women’s college basketball game in 1893 when her freshman
and sophomore Smith College women played against one another. In April 1895 the
women of the University of California (Berkeley) played Stanford University. Despite a
multitude of hindrances (such as being thought unladylike), women’s basketball gradually
secured a foothold. In 1971, when women’s rules were changed to reduce the number on
a team from six players to five and women were freed from the limits imposed by the half-
court game, the level of individual skills and competition quickly rose.
In the early 1980s control of the women’s college game was shifted from the Association
for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) to the NCAA, a move that not only
streamlined the operation and made it more efficient but also added to the visibility of
women’s basketball. The women’s NCAA championship tournament runs concurrently
with the men’s, and many of the games are nationally televised. Women’s basketball
became an Olympic sport in 1976.
 Maryland's Kristi Toliver (20) shooting over Duke's Abby Waner in the 2006 NCAA women's basketball national
championship game.Winslow Townson/AP

Individual women stars have been heavily recruited by colleges, but the players frequently
found that there was no opportunity for them to play beyond the college level. Leagues
were occasionally formed, such as the Women’s Professional Basketball League (WPBL);
begun in 1978, the WPBL lasted only three years. Eventually filling the void was
the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Aligned with the powerful NBA, the
WNBA held its inaugural season in 1997 with eight teams. By 2006 the WNBA had grown
to 14 teams, though following the season the Charlotte Sting disbanded, and in 2008 the
WNBA’s inaugural champion, the Houston Comets, also folded. The Sacramento
Monarchs disbanded in 2009. The Eastern Conference consists of the Atlanta Dream,
Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun (in Uncasville), Indiana Fever (in Indianapolis), New York
Liberty (in New York City), and Washington (D.C.) Mystics. The Western Conference
comprises the Los Angeles Sparks, Minnesota Lynx (in Minneapolis), Phoenix Mercury,
San Antonio Silver Stars, Seattle Storm, and Tulsa (Oklahoma) Shock. Women’s
professional basketball is played during the summer months.
International competition

The success of international basketball was greatly advanced by Forrest C. (“Phog”) Allen,
a Naismith disciple and a former coach at the University of Kansas, who led the
movement for the inclusion of basketball in the Olympic Games in 1936 and thereafter.
Basketball has also been played in the Pan-American Games since their inauguration in
1951. The international game is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Basketball
Amateur (FIBA). World championships began in 1950 for men and in 1953 for women.
(The men’s tournament was renamed the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2014.) Under
international rules the court differs in that there is no frontcourt or backcourt, and the free
throw lanes form a modified wedge shape. There are some differences in rules, including
those governing substitutions, technical and personal fouls, free throws, intermissions,
and time-outs. Outside the United States there are few places that strictly separate
amateur from professional athletes.

Anne Donovan (centre) of the United States attempts to shoot over Polona Dornik (left) and Sladjana Golic (right) of
Yugoslavia during the 1988 World Amateur Basketball Championship Focus on Sports

Basketball has caught on particularly well in Italy. The Italian professional basketball
league (Lega Basket) is highly regarded and popular in that country. Spain also has
several basketball leagues, the main one being the ACB (Asociación de Clubes de
Baloncesto). The other major centre of European basketball is eastern Europe, particularly
the Balkans. Although the European leagues are not formally aligned with the American
NBA, there are links between European and American basketball. It is not uncommon for
European players to be drafted by the NBA, nor is it uncommon for American players to
play in Europe. American players in the European leagues tend to be older players who
have finished successful NBA careers in the United States or younger players who have
not yet been drafted into the NBA.
Play Of The Game
Court and equipment
The standard American basketball court is in the shape of a rectangle 50 feet (15.2
metres) by 94 feet (28.7 metres); high school courts may be slightly smaller. There are
various markings on the court, including a centre circle, free throw lanes, and a three-point
line, that help regulate play. A goal, or basket, 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter is suspended
from a backboard at each end of the court. The metal rim of the basket is 10 feet (3
metres) above the floor. In the professional game the backboard is a rectangle, 6 feet (1.8
metres) wide and 3.5 feet (1.1 metres) high, made of a transparent material, usually glass;
it may be 4 feet (1.2 metres) high in college. The international court varies somewhat in
size and markings. The spherical inflated ball measures 29.5 to 30 inches (74.9 to 76 cm)
in circumference and weighs 20 to 22 ounces (567 to 624 grams). Its covering is leather
or composition.

BRITANNICA DEMYSTIFIED

Why Are Basketball Hoops 10 Feet High?

Athletes of all ages play organized basketball with hoops that are 10 feet off the ground. Why is that?

Rules

The rules governing play of the game are based on Naismith’s five principles requiring a
large, light ball, handled with the hands; no running with the ball; no player being restricted
from getting the ball when it is in play; no personal contact; and a horizontal, elevated
goal. The rules are spelled out in specific detail by the governing bodies of the several
branches of the sport and cover the playing court and equipment, officials, players,
scoring and timing, fouls, violations, and other matters. The officials include a referee and
two umpires in college play (two referees and a crew chief in NBA play), two timers, and
two scorekeepers. One player on each team acts as captain and speaks for the team on
all matters involving the officials, such as interpretation of rules. Professional,
international, and high school games are divided into four periods, college games into two.
Since the 1895–96 season, a field goal has scored two points and a free throw one point.
When the ABA was founded in 1967, it allowed three points for shots made from outside a
boundary line set 25 feet (7.6 metres) from the basket. With varying distances, the change
was adopted officially by the NBA in 1979 and, in 1985, by colleges.
Basketball is a rough sport, although it is officially a noncontact game. A player may pass
or bounce (dribble) the ball to a position whereby he or a teammate may try for a basket.
A foul is committed whenever a player makes such contact with an opponent as to put him
at a disadvantage; for the 2001–02 season the NBA approved a rule change that
eliminated touch fouls, meaning brief contact initiated by a defensive player is allowable if
it does not impede the progress of the offensive player. If a player is fouled
while shooting and the shot is good, the basket counts and he is awarded one free throw
(an unhindered throw for a goal from behind the free throw, or foul, line, which is 15 feet
[4.6 metres] from the backboard); if the shot misses, he gets a second free throw. If a foul
is committed against a player who is not shooting, then his team is awarded either the
possession of the ball or a free throw if the other team is in a penalty situation. A team is
in a penalty situation when it has been called for a set number of fouls in one period (five
in one quarter in professional and international play and seven in one half in the college
game). In college basketball, penalty free throws are “one-and-one” in nature (consisting
of one free throw that, if made, is followed by a second) until the opposing team commits a
10th foul in a half, creating a “double bonus” situation where all fouls automatically result
in two free throws. A pair of penalty free throws are immediately earned when teams enter
the penalty situation in both the NBA and international play. Infractions such as
unsportsmanlike conduct or grasping the rim are technical fouls, which award to the
opposition a free throw and possession of the ball. Overly violent fouls are called flagrant
fouls and also result in free throws and possession for the opposition. Players are allowed
a set number of personal fouls per game (six in the NBA, five in most other competitions)
and are removed from the game when the foul limit is reached.
Other common infractions occur when a player (with the ball) takes an excessive number
of steps or slides; fails to advance the ball within five seconds while being “closely
guarded”; causes the ball to go out-of-bounds; steps over the foul line while shooting a
free throw; steps over the end line or sideline while tossing the ball in to a teammate, or
fails to pass the ball in within five seconds; runs with, kicks, or strikes the ball with his fist;
dribbles a second time after having once concluded his dribble (double dribble); remains
more than three seconds in his free throw lane while he or his team has the ball; causes
the ball to go into the backcourt; retains the ball in the backcourt more than 10 seconds,
changed in the NBA to 8 seconds for 2001–02; or fails to shoot within the time allotted by
the shot clock (24 seconds in the NBA, the WNBA, and international play; 30 in women’s
college basketball; and 35 in men’s college basketball). The penalty is loss of the ball—
opponents throw the ball in from the side.
Common terms used in basketball include the following:

Blocking
Any illegal personal contact that impedes the progress of an opponent who does not have
the ball.

Dribble
Ball movement by bouncing the ball. A dribble ends when a player touches the ball with
both hands simultaneously or does not continue his dribble.

Held ball
Called when two opponents have one or two hands so firmly upon the ball that neither can
gain possession without undue roughness. It also is called when a player in the frontcourt
is so closely guarded that he cannot pass or try for a goal or is obviously withholding the
ball from play.

Jump ball
A method of putting the ball into play. The referee tosses the ball up between two
opponents who try to tap it to a teammate. The jump ball is used to begin games and, in
the professional game, when the ball is possessed by two opposing players at the same
time.

BRITANNICA QUIZ
 Basketball Player Nicknames

“The Big Dipper”

Pass
Throwing, batting, or rolling the ball to another player. The main types are (1) the chest
pass, in which the ball is released from a position in front of the chest, (2) the bounce
pass, in which the ball is bounced on the floor to get it past a defensive opponent, (3) the
roll pass on the floor, (4) the hook pass (side or overhead), and (5) the baseball pass, in
which the ball is thrown a longer distance with one hand in a manner similar to a baseball
throw.
Pivot
A movement in which a player with the ball steps once or more in any direction with the
same foot while the other foot (pivot foot) is kept at its point of contact with the floor.
Pivot player

Another term for centre; also called a post player. He may begin the offensive set from a
position just above the free throw line.

Rebounding
Both teams attempting to gain possession of the ball after any try for a basket that is
unsuccessful, but the ball does not go out-of-bounds and remains in play.

Screen, or pick
Legal action of a player who, without causing more than incidental contact, delays or
prevents an opponent from reaching his desired position.

Shots from the field

One of the main field shots is the layup, in which the shooter, while close to the basket,
jumps and lays the ball against the backboard so it will rebound into the basket or just lays
it over the rim. Away from the basket, players use a one-hand push shot from a stride,
jump, or standing position and a hook shot, which is overhead. Some players can dunk or
slam-dunk the ball, jamming the ball down into the basket.
Traveling (walking with the ball)
Progressing in any direction in excess of the prescribed limits, normally two steps, while
holding the ball.
Turnover

Loss of possession of the ball by a team through error or a rule violation.

Other special terms are discussed below.

Principles of play

Each team of five players consists of two forwards, two guards, and a centre, usually the
tallest man on the team. At the beginning of the first period of a game, the ball is put into
play by a jump ball at centre court; i.e., the referee tosses the ball up between the
opposing centres, higher than either can jump, and when it descends each tries to tap it to
one of his teammates, who must remain outside the centre circle until the ball is tapped.
Subsequent periods of professional and college games begin with a throw in from out-of-
bounds. Jump balls are also signaled by the officials when opposing players share
possession of the ball (held ball) or simultaneously cause it to go out-of-bounds. In U.S.
college games the alternate-possession rule is invoked in jump ball situations, with teams
taking turns getting possession. After each successful basket (field goal) the ball is put
back in play by the team that is scored on, by one player passing the ball in from behind
the end line where the score was made. The ball is put in play in the same manner after a
successful free throw or, if two have been awarded, after the second if it is successful.
After nonshooting violations the ball is awarded to the opposing team to be passed
inbounds from a point designated by an official.
A player who takes possession of the ball must pass or shoot before taking two steps or
must start dribbling before taking his second step. When the dribble stops, the player must
stop his movement and pass or shoot the ball. The ball may be tapped or batted with the
hands, passed, bounced, or rolled in any direction.

As basketball has progressed, various coaches and players have devised intricate plays
and offensive maneuvers. Some systems emphasize speed, deft ball handling, and high
scoring; others stress ball control, slower patterned movement, and lower scoring. A
strategy based on speed is called the fast break. When fast-break players recover
possession of the ball in their backcourt, as by getting the rebound from an opponent’s
missed shot, they race upcourt using a combination of speed and passing and try to make
a field goal before the opponents have time to set up a defense.
Some teams, either following an overall game plan or as an alternative when they do not
have the opportunity for a fast break, employ a more deliberate style of offense. The
guards carefully bring the ball down the court toward the basket and maintain possession
of the ball in the frontcourt by passing and dribbling and by screening opponents in an
effort to set up a play that will free a player for an open shot. Set patterns of offense
generally use one or two pivot, or post, players who play near the free throw area at the
low post positions (within a few feet of the basket) or at high post positions (near the free
throw line). The pivot players are usually the taller players on the team and are in position
to receive passes, pass to teammates, shoot, screen for teammates, and tip in or rebound
(recover) missed shots. All the players on the team are constantly on the move, executing
the patterns designed to give one player a favourable shot—and at the same time place
one or more teammates in a good position to tip in or rebound if that player misses.
Systems of defense also have developed over the years. One of the major strategies is
known as man-to-man. In this system each player guards a specific opponent, except
when “switching” with a teammate when he is screened or in order to guard another player
in a more threatening scoring position. Another major strategy is the zone, or five-man,
defense. In this system each player has a specific area to guard irrespective of which
opponent plays in that area. The zone is designed to keep the offense from driving in to
the basket and to force the offense into taking long shots.
A great many variations and combinations have been devised to employ the several
aspects of both man-to-man and zone defensive strategies. The press, which can be
either man-to-man or zone, is used by a team to guard its opponent so thoroughly that the
opposition is forced to hurry its movements and especially to commit errors that result in
turnovers. A full-court press applies this pressure defense from the moment the opposition
takes possession of the ball at one end of the court. Well-coached teams are able to
modify both their offensive and defensive strategies according to the shifting
circumstances of the game and in response to their opponents’ particular strengths and
weaknesses and styles of play.
William George MokrayRobert G. LoganLarry W. DonaldThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Winners Of Select Basketball Championships

S

NBA championship

The table provides a chronological list of winners of the NBA championship.

season winner runner-up results
1946–47 Philadelphia Warriors Chicago Stags 4–1

1947–48 Baltimore Bullets Philadelphia Warriors 4–2

1948–49 Minneapolis Lakers Washington Capitols 4–2

1949–50 Minneapolis Lakers Syracuse Nationals 4–2

1950–51 Rochester Royals New York Knickerbockers 4–3

1951–52 Minneapolis Lakers New York Knickerbockers 4–3

1952–53 Minneapolis Lakers New York Knickerbockers 4–1

1953–54 Minneapolis Lakers Syracuse Nationals 4–3

1954–55 Syracuse Nationals Fort Wayne Pistons 4–3

 season winner runner-up results
1955–56 Philadelphia Warriors Fort Wayne Pistons 4–1

1956–57 Boston Celtics St. Louis Hawks 4–3

1957–58 St. Louis Hawks Boston Celtics 4–2

1958–59 Boston Celtics Minneapolis Lakers 4–0

1959–60 Boston Celtics St. Louis Hawks 4–3

1960–61 Boston Celtics St. Louis Hawks 4–1

1961–62 Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers 4–3

1962–63 Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers 4–2

1963–64 Boston Celtics San Francisco Warriors 4–1

1964–65 Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers 4–1

1965–66 Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers 4–3

1966–67 Philadelphia 76ers San Francisco Warriors 4–2

1967–68 Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers 4–2

1968–69 Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers 4–3

1969–70 New York Knickerbockers Los Angeles Lakers 4–3

1970–71 Milwaukee Bucks Baltimore Bullets 4–0

1971–72 Los Angeles Lakers New York Knickerbockers 4–1

1972–73 New York Knickerbockers Los Angeles Lakers 4–1

1973–74 Boston Celtics Milwaukee Bucks 4–3

1974–75 Golden State Warriors Washington Bullets 4–0

1975–76 Boston Celtics Phoenix Suns 4–2

1976–77 Portland Trail Blazers Philadelphia 76ers 4–2

1977–78 Washington Bullets Seattle SuperSonics 4–3

1978–79 Seattle SuperSonics Washington Bullets 4–1

1979–80 Los Angeles Lakers Philadelphia 76ers 4–2

1980–81 Boston Celtics Houston Rockets 4–2

1981–82 Los Angeles Lakers Philadelphia 76ers 4–2

1982–83 Philadelphia 76ers Los Angeles Lakers 4–0

 season winner runner-up results
1983–84 Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers 4–3

1984–85 Los Angeles Lakers Boston Celtics 4–2

1985–86 Boston Celtics Houston Rockets 4–2

1986–87 Los Angeles Lakers Boston Celtics 4–2

1987–88 Los Angeles Lakers Detroit Pistons 4–3

1988–89 Detroit Pistons Los Angeles Lakers 4–0

1989–90 Detroit Pistons Portland Trail Blazers 4–1

1990–91 Chicago Bulls Los Angeles Lakers 4–1

1991–92 Chicago Bulls Portland Trail Blazers 4–2

1992–93 Chicago Bulls Phoenix Suns 4–2

1993–94 Houston Rockets New York Knickerbockers 4–3

1994–95 Houston Rockets Orlando Magic 4–0

1995–96 Chicago Bulls Seattle SuperSonics 4–2

1996–97 Chicago Bulls Utah Jazz 4–2

1997–98 Chicago Bulls Utah Jazz 4–2

1998–99 San Antonio Spurs New York Knickerbockers 4–1

1999–
Los Angeles Lakers Indiana Pacers 4–2
2000

2000–01 Los Angeles Lakers Philadelphia 76ers 4–1

2001–02 Los Angeles Lakers New Jersey Nets 4–0

2002–03 San Antonio Spurs New Jersey Nets 4–2

2003–04 Detroit Pistons Los Angeles Lakers 4–1

2004–05 San Antonio Spurs Detroit Pistons 4–3

2005–06 Miami Heat Dallas Mavericks 4–2

2006–07 San Antonio Spurs Cleveland Cavaliers 4–0

2007–08 Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers 4–2

2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers Orlando Magic 4–1

2009–10 Los Angeles Lakers Boston Celtics 4–3

 season winner runner-up results
2010–11 Dallas Mavericks Miami Heat 4–2

2011–12 Miami Heat Oklahoma City Thunder 4–1

2012–13 Miami Heat San Antonio Spurs 4–3

2013–14 San Antonio Spurs Miami Heat 4–1

2014–15 Golden State Warriors Cleveland Cavaliers 4–2

2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers Golden State Warriors 4–3

2016–17 Golden State Warriors Cleveland Cavaliers 4–1

2017–18 Golden State Warriors Cleveland Cavaliers 4–0

2018–19 Toronto Raptors Golden State Warriors 4–2

National Basketball Association (NBA) Championship

Advertisement
WNBA championship

The table provides a chronological list of winners of the WNBA championship.

year winner runner-up results

*Best-of-three final series until 2005; thereafter best-of-five series.

1997 Houston Comets New York Liberty 1–0

1998 Houston Comets Phoenix Mercury 2–1

1999 Houston Comets New York Liberty 2–1

2000 Houston Comets New York Liberty 2–0

2001 Los Angeles Sparks Charlotte Sting 2–0

2002 Los Angeles Sparks New York Liberty 2–0

2003 Detroit Shock Los Angeles Sparks 2–1

2004 Seattle Storm Connecticut Sun 2–1

2005 Sacramento Monarchs Connecticut Sun 3–1

2006 Detroit Shock Sacramento Monarchs 3–2

2007 Phoenix Mercury Detroit Shock 3–2

 year winner runner-up results
2008 Detroit Shock San Antonio Silver Stars 3–0

2009 Phoenix Mercury Indiana Fever 3–2

2010 Seattle Storm Atlanta Dream 3–0

2011 Minnesota Lynx Atlanta Dream 3–0

2012 Indiana Fever Minnesota Lynx 3–1

2013 Minnesota Lynx Atlanta Dream 3–0

2014 Phoenix Mercury Chicago Sky 3–0

2015 Minnesota Lynx Indiana Fever 3–2

2016 Los Angeles Sparks Minnesota Lynx 3–2

2017 Minnesota Lynx Los Angeles Sparks 3–2

2018 Seattle Storm Washington Mystics 3–0

2019 Washington Mystics Connecticut Sun 3–2

Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) Championship*

NCAA men’s championship

The table provides a chronological list of winners of the NCAA men’s championship.

year winner runner-up score

*Louisville's title was vacated in 2018 because of rules violations committed between 2011 and 2015.

1939 Oregon Ohio State 46–43

1940 Indiana Kansas 60–42

1941 Wisconsin Washington State 39–34

1942 Stanford Dartmouth 53–38

1943 Wyoming Georgetown 46–34

1944 Utah Dartmouth 42–40

1945 Oklahoma A&M New York 49–45

1946 Oklahoma A&M North Carolina 43–40

1947 Holy Cross Oklahoma 58–47

 year winner runner-up score
1948 Kentucky Baylor 58–42

1949 Kentucky Oklahoma State 46–36

1950 CCNY Bradley 71–68

1951 Kentucky Kansas State 68–58

1952 Kansas St. John's (N.Y.) 80–63

1953 Indiana Kansas 69–68

1954 La Salle Bradley 92–76

1955 San Francisco La Salle 77–63

1956 San Francisco Iowa 83–71

1957 North Carolina Kansas 54–53

1958 Kentucky Seattle 84–72

1959 California (Berkeley) West Virginia 71–70

1960 Ohio State California (Berkeley) 75–55

1961 Cincinnati Ohio State 70–65

1962 Cincinnati Ohio State 71–59

1963 Loyola (Ill.) Cincinnati 60–58

1964 UCLA Duke 98–83

1965 UCLA Michigan 91–80

1966 Texas Western Kentucky 72–65

1967 UCLA Dayton 79–64

1968 UCLA North Carolina 78–55

1969 UCLA Purdue 92–72

1970 UCLA Jacksonville 80–69

1971 UCLA Villanova 68–62

1972 UCLA Florida State 81–76

1973 UCLA Memphis State 87–66

1974 North Carolina State Marquette 76–64

1975 UCLA Kentucky 92–85

 year winner runner-up score
1976 Indiana Michigan 86–68

1977 Marquette North Carolina 67–59

1978 Kentucky Duke 94–88

1979 Michigan State Indiana State 75–64

1980 Louisville UCLA 59–54

1981 Indiana North Carolina 63–50

1982 North Carolina Georgetown 63–62

1983 North Carolina State Houston 54–52

1984 Georgetown Houston 84–75

1985 Villanova Georgetown 66–64

1986 Louisville Duke 72–69

1987 Indiana Syracuse 74–73

1988 Kansas Oklahoma 83–79

1989 Michigan Seton Hall 80–79

1990 UNLV Duke 103–73

1991 Duke Kansas 72–65

1992 Duke Michigan 71–51

1993 North Carolina Michigan 77–71

1994 Arkansas Duke 76–72

1995 UCLA Arkansas 89–78

1996 Kentucky Syracuse 76–67

1997 Arizona Kentucky 84–79

1998 Kentucky Utah 78–69

1999 Connecticut Duke 77–74

2000 Michigan State Florida 89–76

2001 Duke Arizona 82–72

2002 Maryland Indiana 64–52

2003 Syracuse Kansas 81–78

 year winner runner-up score
2004 Connecticut Georgia Tech 82–73

2005 North Carolina Illinois 75–70

2006 Florida UCLA 73–57

2007 Florida Ohio State 84–75

2008 Kansas Memphis 75–68

2009 North Carolina Michigan State 89–72

2010 Duke Butler 61–59

2011 Connecticut Butler 53–41

2012 Kentucky Kansas 67–59

2013 Louisville* Michigan 82–76

2014 Connecticut Kentucky 60–54

2015 Duke Wisconsin 68–63

2016 Villanova North Carolina 77–74

2017 North Carolina Gonzaga 71–65

2018 Villanova Michigan 79–62

2019 Virginia Texas Tech 85–77

Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship—men

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NCAA women’s championship

The table provides a chronological list of winners of the NCAA women’s championship.
year winner runner-up score
1982 Louisiana Tech Cheney (Pa.) 76–62

1983 Southern California Louisiana Tech 69–67

1984 Southern California Tennessee 72–61

1985 Old Dominion Georgia 70–65

1986 Texas Southern California 97–81

1987 Tennessee Louisiana Tech 67–44

 year winner runner-up score
1988 Louisiana Tech Auburn 56–54

1989 Tennessee Auburn 76–60

1990 Stanford Auburn 88–81

1991 Tennessee Virginia 70–67

1992 Stanford Western Kentucky 78–62

1993 Texas Tech Ohio State 84–82

1994 North Carolina Louisiana Tech 60–59

1995 Connecticut Tennessee 70–64

1996 Tennessee Georgia 83–65

1997 Tennessee Old Dominion 68–59

1998 Tennessee Louisiana Tech 93–75

1999 Purdue Duke 62–45

2000 Connecticut Tennessee 71–52

2001 Notre Dame Purdue 68–66

2002 Connecticut Oklahoma 82–70

2003 Connecticut Tennessee 73–68

2004 Connecticut Tennessee 70–61

2005 Baylor Michigan State 84–62

2006 Maryland Duke 78–75

2007 Tennessee Rutgers 59–46

2008 Tennessee Stanford 64–48

2009 Connecticut Louisville 76–54

2010 Connecticut Stanford 53–47

2011 Texas A&M Notre Dame 76–70

2012 Baylor Notre Dame 80–61

2013 Connecticut Louisville 93–60

2014 Connecticut Notre Dame 79–58

2015 Connecticut Notre Dame 63–53

 year winner runner-up score
2016 Connecticut Syracuse 82–51

2017 South Carolina Mississippi State 67–55

2018 Notre Dame Mississippi State 61–58

2019 Baylor Notre Dame 82–81

Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship—women

FIBA Basketball World Cup

The table provides a chronological list of winners of the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
FIBA Basketball World Cup*

*Known as the FIBA World Championship until 2014.

**Olympic championships, recognized as world championships.
**By default.

year winner runner-up

1936** United States Canada

1948** United States France

1950 Argentina United States

1952** United States U.S.S.R.

1954 United States Brazil

1956** United States U.S.S.R.

1959 Brazil*** United States

1960** United States U.S.S.R.

1963 Brazil Yugoslavia

1964** United States U.S.S.R.

1967 U.S.S.R. Yugoslavia

1968** United States Yugoslavia

1970 Yugoslavia Brazil

1972** U.S.S.R. United States

 FIBA Basketball World Cup*
1974 U.S.S.R. Yugoslavia

1976** United States Yugoslavia

1978 Yugoslavia U.S.S.R.

1980** Yugoslavia Italy

1982 U.S.S.R. United States

1984** United States Spain

1986 United States U.S.S.R.

1988** U.S.S.R. Yugoslavia

1990 Yugoslavia U.S.S.R.

1992** United States Croatia

1994 United States Russia

1996** United States Yugoslavia

1998 Yugoslavia Russia

2000** United States France

2002 Yugoslavia Argentina

2004** Argentina Italy

2006 Spain Greece

2008** United States Spain

2010 United States Turkey

2012** United States Spain

2014 United States Serbia

FIBA women’s world championship

The table provides a chronological list of winners of the FIBA women’s world
championship.
World basketball championship—women

*Olympic championships, recognized as world championships.

**Athletes from the Commonwealth of Independent States plus
Georgia.
 World basketball championship—women
year winner runner-up

1953 United States Chile

1957 United States U.S.S.R.

1959 U.S.S.R. Bulgaria

1964 U.S.S.R. Czechoslovakia

1967 U.S.S.R. South Korea

1971 U.S.S.R. Czechoslovakia

1975 U.S.S.R. Japan

1976* U.S.S.R. United States

1979 United States South Korea

1980* U.S.S.R. Bulgaria

1983 U.S.S.R. United States

1984* United States South Korea

1986 United States U.S.S.R.

1988* United States Yugoslavia

1990 United States Yugoslavia

1992* Unified Team** China

1994 Brazil China

1996* United States Brazil

1998 United States Russia

2000* United States Australia

2002 United States Russia

2004* United States Australia

2006 Australia Russia

2008* United States Australia

2010 United States Czech Republic

2012* United States France

2014 United States Spain

NBA All-Time Records
The table provides a selection of National Basketball Association records.
National Basketball Association all-time records 1

1
Through the end of the 2015–16 regular season.
2
Minimum 2,000 made.
3
Minimum 250 made.
4
Minimum 1,200 made.
5
Since 1973–74; before that season steals and blocked shots were not officially recorded by the NBA.