Basketball is almost unique in an important way among the big four sports in the US calendar. The proximity of players to fans makes for a real feeling of being part of the game in a way that football just cannot – sitting above the sidelines means that you are separated from the players by […]
Winning A Game In Overtime – Victory At Its Sweetest
In soccer, drawn games are fairly common given the fact that it is entirely possible to go all the way through a game without a goal being scored, and the overall number of goals scored in a game is usually between two and three. In basketball, tied games are less common – but when they […]
The Free Throw – More Than Just A Penalty Shot
One of the most frequent set pieces of a basketball game is the free throw. Awarded for certain fouls, and then for all fouls after a set number have been committed, the free throw is a penalty which provides the offended team with a chance to score some points, but may also be used by […]
The Draft System – Stars Of Tomorrow Or Expensive Gambles?
Although absolutely central to the way that professional sports are played in the USA, the draft system is largely unique to America – over the Atlantic in Europe players sign with a club as an apprentice during their schooldays and afterwards can only move when the club which covets them pays compensation to their current […]
Great Sporting Rivalries And Their Place In Basketball
One of the most enduring elements of a sport is the classic rivalry. This is something which is present in all sports – anyone who has witnessed a derby match in soccer will know that while all games are important for a team, the games that happen each season between close rivals are somehow more […]
Showing Your True Colors
The importance of merchandising to professional basketball teams has always been high, but the recent past has seen the saturation of an industry, with merchandise becoming so prominent that some sports have even gone so far as to provide branded coffins for fans who wish to be buried in their team’s colors. Although professional basketball […]
The Double Dribble Rule And What It Means
As a child, your first game of basketball is a world of discovery. As you are not allowed to run with the ball it is important to learn to dribble it, and this is something that plays a very important part in the smooth running of the game. Many novice players, aware that they have […]
The Shot Clock – And Why It Is Important
Basketball is considered to be one of the fastest ball sports there is, and there are a number of rules in place to ensure that this remains the case. One such rule is the shot clock, which is used in the NBA and most professional and amateur leagues to ensure that teams do not simply […]
Basketball Legends: Phil Jackson
When talking of the true legends of basketball, people always tend to refer to players – those who have scored a lot of baskets, have made important baskets, or have made assists to other players or stopped opposing players from scoring. However, no pantheon of basketball legends could ever be complete without paying tribute to […]
Basketball Legends: Kobe Bryant
Although Michael Jordan is most people’s choice for the title of Greatest NBA Player, he may not be the most talked-about player of all time. For reasons which have occasionally drawn him into off-court controversy and for his startling achievements on the court, Kobe Bryant has to be considered one of the biggest names in […]