Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball through the defender's hoop, while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own hoop. A field goal is worth two points, unless made from behind the three-point line, when it is worth three. After a foul, timed play stops and the player fouled or designated to shoot a technical foul is given one, two or three one-point free throws. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but if regulation play expires with the score tied, an additional period of play (overtime) is mandated.
In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. Indoor basketball courts are almost always made of polished wood, usually maple, with 10 feet (3.048 m)-high rims on each basket. Outdoor surfaces are generally made from standard paving materials such as concrete or asphalt. International competitions may use glass basketball courts.
A three-point field goal is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two points awarded for field goals made within the three-point line and the one point for each made free throw.
In timed sports, a buzzer beater is a successful shot that upon completion leaves zero seconds on the game clock. A buzzer sounds whenever a game clock expires, hence the name "buzzer beater". In basketball, the concept normally applies to baskets that beat an end-of-quarter/2nd-half/overtime buzzer but is sometimes applied to shots that beat the shot clock buzzer.
The Shot was a basketball play during a 1989 playoff game between the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It took place on May 7, 1989, at Richfield Coliseum in Richfield Township, Ohio, during the deciding Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round series between the Bulls and Cavaliers. With the best-of-five series tied at two games apiece and the Cavaliers leading the game by one point with three seconds left, Bulls player Michael Jordan received an inbound pass and made a buzzer-beater shot to give the Bulls a 101–100 win and clinch a series victory. The play capped off a final minute in which there were six lead changes. Jordan finished the game with 44 points. The Shot is considered to be one of his greatest clutch moments, and the game itself is regarded as a classic.
Tyus Dwayne Edney Sr. is an American basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Pepperdine Waves men's team of the West Coast Conference (WCC). Listed at 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m), he played point guard. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins from 1991 to 1995, leading them to the 1995 NCAA national championship. His game-winning shot for UCLA in the second round of the 1995 NCAA Tournament is considered one of the most famous plays in NCAA Tournament history. A two-time All-EuroLeague First Team selection, he led Žalgiris Kaunas to the 1999 EuroLeague title and was named the EuroLeague Final Four MVP. He became an assistant coach for UCLA.
This glossary of basketball terms is a list of definitions of terms used in the game of basketball. Like any other major sport, basketball features its own extensive vocabulary of unique words and phrases used by players, coaches, sports journalists, commentators, and fans.
Jerald B. Harkness was an American professional basketball player. He played for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Indiana Pacers of the American Basketball Association (ABA). Harkness played college basketball for the Loyola Ramblers, where he was captain of the 1962–63 team that won the 1963 NCAA national championship. A consensus first-team All-American, Harkness was selected by the Knicks in the second round of the 1963 NBA draft. He was also a civil rights activist.
In basketball, a field goal is a basket scored on any shot or tap other than a free throw, worth two or three points depending on the location of the attempt on the basket. Uncommonly, a field goal can be worth other values such as one point in FIBA 3x3 basketball competitions or four points in the BIG3 basketball league. "Field goal" is the official terminology used by the National Basketball Association (NBA) in their rule book, in their box scores and statistics, and in referees' rulings. The same term is also the official wording used by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and high school basketball.
The key, officially referred to as the free throw lane by the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), and the restricted area by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), also simply called the lane, is a marked area on a basketball court surrounding the basket, where much of the game's action takes place.
In basketball, a four-point play is the rare occasion when an offensive player shoots and makes a three-point field goal while simultaneously being fouled by a defensive player, resulting in a shooting foul and one free throw attempt, or a two-point field goal and is intentionally or flagrantly fouled on the shot and is awarded two free throws. If the player makes their free throws, they will have scored four points on a single possession. The short-lived American Basketball League first introduced the four-point play to the game of basketball, and it was later adopted by the American Basketball Association during its inaugural season. The National Basketball Association (NBA) introduced that rule in 1979; FIBA in 1984; the NCAA in 1986 and 1987 (women); the NHFS in 1987; and the WNBA in 1997.
Ulysses Cleon "U.S." Reed is an American former college basketball player for the Arkansas Razorbacks, perhaps best known for the half-court buzzer beating shot he sank during the 1981 NCAA Tournament to defeat the defending tournament champion Louisville Cardinals.
Basketball is a ball game and team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules. Since being developed by James Naismith as a non-contact game that almost anyone can play, basketball has undergone many different rule variations, eventually evolving into the NBA-style game known today. Basketball is one of the most popular and widely viewed sports in the world.
Jeremy Emmanuel Lamb is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the UConn Huskies. As a freshman, he was the second-leading scorer on the 2011 national champion UConn Huskies team.
The 2015 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2014–15 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors defeating the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. Andre Iguodala was named NBA Finals MVP.
Paul Jesperson is an American former basketball player who is currently an assistant coach for the Valley Suns of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Northern Iowa Panthers.
The 1948 Globetrotters–Lakers game was a dramatic match-up between the Harlem Globetrotters and the Minneapolis Lakers. Played in Chicago Stadium, the game took place two years before professional basketball was desegregated. The Globetrotters' 61–59 victory – by two points at the buzzer – challenged prevailing racial stereotypes about the abilities of black athletes.
Elan Lee Buller was a U.S. University Division I WCC basketball player for the Pepperdine University Waves in Malibu, California. He won an Olympic gold medal at the Maccabiah Games in Israel and broke two Guinness World Records for the longest basketball shot from the ground.
Payton Michael Pritchard is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks. As a sophomore, Pritchard earned second-team all-conference honors in the Pac-12. In his senior year, he was a finalist for the Naismith Trophy. Selected 26th overall in the 2020 NBA draft by the Celtics, Pritchard reached the NBA Finals with the team in both 2022 and 2024, securing a championship in 2024.
