Basketball is one of the most common and popular sports in the world alongside football, hockey, volleyball, and tennis. Over the years, the sport has seen many changes: star athletes have emerged, key competitions have been established, and a whole industry of associated goods, services, and media has spawned (clothes and footwear, movies, and videogames, sports betting, etc). In this article, we’ll take a quick look at several integral aspects of basketball: its history, rules, popular events and teams, famous players, and the betting industry.

Basketball History

Basketball started life in December 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts as a less traumatic alternative to football and a way for athletes to exercise indoors during winter. During the 20th century, the sport quickly became popular in America and, later on, in other countries. Among the factors that contributed to its rise in popularity are the First World War and YMCA.

The establishment of the American Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946 is one of the most important moments in the history of basketball, paving the way for an assortment of professional tournaments and teams. The league changed its name to National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1949 after it merged with the rival National Basketball League (NBL). The addition of athletes of African descent in the late 1950s and the early 1960s galvanized the sport; nowadays, most of the top athletes are African American.

Rules

Basketball is a team sport where the goal is to shoot the ball through the opposing team’s hoop to gain points. Many rules were altered or added and major organizations (like NBA) have their variations on the traditional rules. In this article, we’ll give a summary of the current rules of the game.

There are two teams of five players each; both of them have hoops that they need to defend from the opposing team.
Unlike football, all players are allowed to touch the ball with their hands, but they must dribble it with one hand while moving across the court.
Also, unlike football, the players are not allowed to hit the ball with their legs.
The team with the ball can’t go back to their part of the court once they’ve crossed the

half-court line.
Physically interfering with other players’ actions is prohibited.
The referee is present on the court to enforce the rules.
Players can be substituted in case of injuries or a coach’s decision.
Each game is divided into two halves of varying lengths depending on the level of

competition.
The team gets two points for sending a ball through the opposing team’s basket, three points for a successful hit from the three-point line or outside it, and a point for free throws.
If the score is tied, the teams play overtime periods to determine the winner.

Popular Tournaments and Teams

Basketball has spawned many competitions, tournaments, contests, leagues, and championships over the years of varying levels of fame and popularity. In this section, we are going to list the top-tier basketball events from around the world.

FIBA World Club, it’s held every four years in the intervals between the Olympic Games.
Olympic Games, basketball is one of the disciplines of the Summer Olympic Games since 1936 for men and since 1976 for women.
NBA (National Basketball League), one of the major events in basketball, and the most prestigious, this competition includes the best basketball players from all over the world. Throughout basketball history, many famous teams emerged, earning the admiration of thousands of fans around the world. Of course, it’s impossible to name every major basketball team from every era of basketball. That’s why we will name only the best teams at the moment.
Euroleague - an international event where top European teams compete on a regular basis

Los Angeles Lakers - an American basketball team that competes in the NBA Western Conference and has won the tournament 17 times; this is one of the best basketball teams in the world.
Chicago Bulls - an American basketball team from Chicago that plays in the Eastern Conference of the NBA, this team is famous for winning six NBA championships in a row, and they’ve never lost the NBA Finals.
Miami Heat - an American basketball team from Miami that is part of the Eastern Conference of the NBA; they’ve won 27 consecutive games in the NBA (which is the 3rd longest winning streak).
Golden State Warriors - an American basketball team from San Francisco, they play in the Western Conference of the NBA; this team holds several records in NBA history (best regular season, most wins in a season, etc).
Boston Celtics - an American basketball team from Boston, they compete in the NBA’s Eastern Conference; they have the most recorded wins in NBA history and are tied with Los Angeles Lakers for most NBA Championships won.

Famous Players

Many talented athletes entered the world of basketball and left their marks on the sport. The list of the legendary players of the past is extensive, including such titans of the sport as Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, Kobe Bryant, and many more. Some of the best basketball players of today are LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, James Harden, and Kawhi Leonard.

Bet on Basketball

With so many basketball tournaments, championships, leagues, and other events, the betting industry is prosperous. To help you understand the world of bets and odds a little better, we will describe the options available to you on the Betmaster sportsbook. Let us begin.

The number of matches per event is higher than in football; therefore, there are more betting opportunities. Additionally, basketball is a much more statistically rich sport, so the number of options for betting is also higher than in football. You can make your bet before or during the match (live betting). To start, you need to choose the event, then the match, and the betting option. Betting options for basketball include the following:

Bets on the overall outcome of the match (team A wins, team B wins), the odds vary based on the teams, their recent performances, and other factors.
Bets on a final score (the number of points at the end of the match), here you choose a number, and whether the teams will score below or above it
Bets on a total; these do include bets on the final score, but there are also options for the score of a particular team in a quarter or even a score of an individual player.
Bets on quarters: which quarter will have the most points, for example.
Bets on odds or evens: if the score of either or both teams will be an odd or an even number.