Basketball first found a place in the Olympic Games in 1936 in Berlin. That year, the tournament was held outdoors on a revamped tennis stadium, with a sand and clay surface. Since that modest start, however, the game has remained a very popular addition to the Olympic lineup, and has continue to grow.
History:
The sport of basketball began in 1891, when Dr. James Naismith invented the game as a way to give young New England males a way to exercise during the harsh winters. Working with youth at a YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts, Naismith concocted the game using a soccer ball and two peach baskets. Originally designed for nine players to a side, the game allowed players to bat or throw the ball, but not to run with the ball. Games were composted of two 15 minutes halves, with a five minute rest period in between.
Women's basketball started in 1892 at Smith College, only a year after the invention of the game. Coach Senda Berenson used the game in her physical education class, changing some of the rules to make the game more cooperative than competitive. She divided the court up into three zones, and assigned players to specific zones. Thus, the game relied on all players to participate. The rules were eventually changed to correspond with more modern forms of the game, with women's basketball quickly gaining in popularity throughout the country and around the world. Eventually women's basketball was added to the Olympic roster in 1976, at the Montreal Games.
Basic Rules:
Olympic basketball follows common NBA rules and regulations in most cases. Games are 40 minutes long, and consist of two 20 minutes halves with a short break between halves. Matches are played on a court 28 meters long and 15 meters wide. Players attempt to dribble the basketball across the court and shoot it into a basket, placed 10 feet above the ground. The baskets measure 45 centimeters across, and are surrounded by a half-circle, measured 6.25 meters from the hoop. This line is the three-point line.
Successful shots in the basket are worth various points, based on the type of shot and where it is taken from. Basic shots during the game are worth two points, but shots taken from behind the three-point line are worth three points. Finally, free throws, which are awarded to players as a result of in-game fouls, are worth only one point. Free throws are taken from behind a line measured 5.8 meters from the basket.
Olympic basketball is played with five players to a side. Substitutions can be made at any break in the game, as many times as necessary. If a game ends with a tie, a five-minute overtime round is played. Additional over time can be added if the score remains tied, until one team has won the match.
Each team has two time-outs per game, which can only be called by the coach. Fouls are based on excessively violent contact or blocking the progress of a player and are punished with free throws for the opposite team. Any player who commits more than four fouls must leave the game.
Olympic Basketball:
Since its inception in 1976, Olympic basketball has been an exciting and often controversial event. From long-standing rivalries between the Russian and American teams, to the often violent matches between Uruguay and Argentina, the sport has seen its share of controversy. However, when NBA players were allowed to compete in Olympic play in 1992, the so-called Dream Team was born, possibly the best basketball team the world has ever known. The team was composed of a roster of all-start players, including Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and Karl Malone, and Scottie Pippen. During the games, the Dream Team averaged over 100 points per game, and won the gold medal easily. Since that time, teams have become more well-matched, and the sport continues to have exciting games and intense competition.
