Basketball court

In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor with baskets at either end. In professional or organized basketball, especially when played indoors, it is usually made out of a hardwood, often maple, and highly polished. Other indoor surfaces include suspended plastice interlocking tiles from companies like Flex court , Rhino Court and Sport Court. Outdoor surfaces used include plastic interlocking tiles (suspended athletic courts), asphalt, blacktop, or similar materials are used. Amateur players would typically use tarmac as the surface.

The object of the game is to throw the ball through the baskets at either end of the court. When the game was first invented, actual baskets were used. Dr. James Naismith's original rules specified that "A goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the grounds into the basket and stays there, providing those defending the goal do no touch or disturb the goal." However, because it proved to be inconvenient to continually retrieve the ball from the baskets, the baskets were soon replaced by metal hoops (usually with dangling netting attached to direct the ball straight down.) The hoops are attached to rectangular (or sometimes fanshaped) backboards.

The basketball court comes in different shapes and sizes. In the National Basketball Association, the court is 94 feet long by 50 feet wide (28.65 m by 15.24 m). Under International Basketball Federation (FIBA) rules, the court is slightly smaller, measuring exactly 28 m by 15 m, although national federations are allowed to use smaller courts, as long as they are at least 26 m by 14 m. A highschool court is slightly smaller, at 84 ft by 50 ft. In amateur basketball, court sizes vary widely. The baskets are always 10 feet (3.05m) above the floor (except possibly in youth competition).