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.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams. It is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional basketball league in the world.
Arvydas Romas Sabonis is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player and businessman. Recognized as one of the best European players of all time and one of the best big man passers in the history of the game, he won the Euroscar six times and the Mr. Europa Award twice. He played in a variety of leagues, including the Spanish ACB League, and spent seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Playing the center position, Sabonis won a gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics, in South Korea, for the Soviet Union, and later earned bronze medals at the 1992 Olympic Games and 1996 Olympic Games representing Lithuania. He retired from professional basketball in 2005. Sabonis was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the 1986 NBA draft, but he did not play his first NBA game until 1995, at the age of 30.
Detlef Schrempf is a German-American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Washington Huskies from 1981 to 1985, and was drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA) by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the 1985 NBA draft, with the eighth overall pick. He was an All-NBA Third Team member in 1995, a three-time NBA All-Star, the first European player ever to achieve this award, and the NBA Sixth Man of the Year twice.
Dino Meneghin is an Italian former professional basketball player. He is widely considered to be the best Italian player ever, as well as one of Europe's all-time greats. A 2.06 m tall center, Meneghin was born in Alano di Piave, Veneto. On 20 November 1966, when he was 16 years old, he played in his first game in the Italian League, with Ignis Varese. He played the last game of his career at the age of 45.
Daniel Ricardo Manning is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the Associate Head Mens Basketball Coach at the University of Louisville. Manning played high school basketball at Walter Hines Page High School in Greensboro, North Carolina, as well as Lawrence High School in Lawrence, Kansas. He played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks, and played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 years. After retiring from professional basketball Manning became an assistant coach at his alma mater, the University of Kansas. He won the national championship with the Jayhawks in 1988 as a player, and again as an assistant in 2008. He is the all-time leading scorer in Kansas basketball history with 2,951 points. The next closest player to his point total is Nick Collison, who is 854 points behind Manning.
Leo Rytis Rautins is a Canadian broadcaster, former professional basketball player and the former head coach of the Canadian men's national basketball team. Rautins played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) drafted in the first round of the 1983 NBA draft, by the Philadelphia 76ers. Rautins' NBA career was waylaid by injury. After a brief retirement, Rautins returned to basketball and played in European professional leagues from 1985 until 1992. He has been a broadcaster for the Toronto Raptors since the team's inception in 1995.
Uwe Konstantin Blab is a German former professional basketball player who had a five-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Due to his red hair, Blab was nicknamed “Burning Skyscraper”, especially after becoming the first German for many years to join the NBA in North America.
Marcus Vinicius Vieira de Souza, commonly known as Marquinhos Vieira, or simply Marquinhos, is a Brazilian professional basketball player. He currently plays with São Paulo FC in the Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB). He also represents the senior Brazilian national team.
Chase Andrew Budinger is an American professional volleyball player and former professional basketball player. He was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 44th overall pick in 2009 NBA draft after playing three years of college basketball for the University of Arizona.
Basketball began with its invention in 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts, by Canadian physical education instructor James Naismith as a less injury-prone sport than football. Naismith was a 31-year old graduate student when he created the indoor sport to keep athletes indoors during the winters. The game became established fairly quickly and grew very popular as the 20th century progressed, first in America and then in other parts of the world. After basketball became established in American colleges, the professional game followed. The American National Basketball Association (NBA), established in 1946, grew to a multibillion-dollar enterprise by the end of the century, and basketball became an integral part of American culture.
Kyle Donovan Weaver is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Washington State University, and was drafted 38th overall by the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2008 NBA draft. Weaver, a 6'6" shooting guard-small forward, was born in Beloit, Wisconsin. His father, LaMont Weaver, played collegiate basketball at the University of Wisconsin.
Eric Yamoah Boateng is a British former professional basketball player. He is a former college basketball player with the Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball team. He attended high school at St. Andrew's School in Middletown, Delaware. Boateng committed to Duke University out of high school, but transferred after one season to Arizona State. He is also a member of the senior men's Great Britain national basketball team. In November 2014, he was elected to a four-year term on the British Olympic Association's Athletes' Commission. He was reelected to the Commission in November 2018.
In India, basketball is a popular sport, with a multiple club league system, as well as men's and women's national teams. Indian basketball made significant improvements, most notably in 2015, making them one of the top emerging continental teams.
Sports are widely practiced in Austria, both in professional and amateur competitions. The most popular sports are association football, alpine skiing and ice hockey.
Latavious Williams is an American professional basketball player for Al-Ittihad Jeddah of the Saudi Basketball League (SBL).
Melissa Humana-Paredes is a Canadian beach volleyball player, who is partnered with Brandie Wilkerson. Humana-Paredes won the women's gold medal with Sarah Pavan at the 2019 Beach Volleyball World Championships.
Heather Bansley is a Canadian beach volleyball player, playing as a left-side defender. She has been named FIVB Best Defensive Player of the World Tour in 2015, 2016 and 2018.
Taliqua Clancy is an Australian volleyball and beach volleyball player who represented Australia at the 2016 Summer Olympics in beach volleyball, partnered with Louise Bawden. She is the first Indigenous Australian volleyball player to represent Australia at the Olympics. Clancy plays as a left-side blocker.
Brandie Wilkerson is a Canadian beach volleyball player who plays as a right-side blocker. With teammate Heather Bansley, she achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 1 in November 2018. She is the 2018 FIVB Best Blocker. She has also competed on the AVP.
