In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface/floor. In professional or organized basketball, especially when played indoors, it is usually made out of a hardwood, often maple, and highly polished. For outdoor courts, asphalt, blacktop, or similar materials are used. A basketball court is symmetrical both lengthwise and widthwise.
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). A FIBA court is slightly smaller, at 28 m by 15 m. In street ball the court is much smaller than in NBA.
A diagram of a FIBA basketball court.
The backboard and basket.
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The free throw lane is 12 feet wide and 15 feet long. The distance from the free throw line to the three-point line is 4 feet 9 inches long. The bottom block to the baseline is 4 feet. The center circle's diameter is 12 feet, which is where they have the jump ball to start the game.
The distance to the three point arc has changed twice in the history of basketball. In the 1979-1980 season the three-point arc was moved back to its original 23’ 9", while the college range is 19’ 9", and the international distance is 20’ 6".
During halfcourt basketball, where only half of the court is used, a player must return to the area beyond the free throw circle (or the three-point line, depending on playing preference) before his or her team can score.
References
- http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-888.html
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