Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

is the second most popular sport in the United States (counting amateur levels), after

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

. In terms of revenue, the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) is the third most profitable sports league in the United States and the world, after the National Football League (NFL) and Major League Baseball (MLB). According to the National Sporting Goods Association, over 26 million Americans play basketball regularly, more than any other team sport. Basketball was invented in 1891 by Canadian physical education teacher James Naismith in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

NBA

The

(NBA) is the world's premier men's professional basketball league and one of the major professional sports leagues of North America. It contains 30 teams (29 teams in the U.S. and 1 in Canada) that play an 82-game season from October to June. After the regular season, eight teams from each conference compete in the playoffs for the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. The NBA gets high ratings on television.

Race and ethnicity

The composition of race and

ethnicity An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

in the

(NBA) has changed throughout the league's history. By 2020, 81.1% of players in the NBA are Black (if mixed are also counted as black), 17.9% white, 12.5% mixed race (mostly half-black half-white), and 1.1% of other races. The league has the highest percentage of Black players of any major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. As of 2020, the NBA's viewership appears to be predominantly Black and Hispanic.

National teams

Since the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

, NBA players have represented the United States in international competition and won numerous important tournaments. The

Dream Team Dream Team may refer to: Sport Basketball * Dream Team, the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team in Barcelona * Dream Team II, the 1994 U.S. men's national basketball team at the FIBA World Championship * Dream Team III, the 1996 ...

was the unofficial nickname of the United States men's basketball team that won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics. The Women's national team has won eight gold medals at the Olympics.

High school Basketball

High school Basketball is a popular activity. The National Federation of State High School Associations featured 541,479 boys and 429,504 girls in basketball teams as of the 2014–15 season. Many high school basketball teams have intense local followings, especially in

the Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

and Upper South. Indiana has 10 of the 12

largest high school gyms in the United States The largest high school basketball gyms in the United States refers to gymnasiums primarily used by secondary schools for basketball purposes. 14 of the 16 largest high school gymnasiums are located in the state of Indiana. In March 2019, The Indi ...

, and is famous for its basketball passion, known as

Hoosier Hysteria Hoosier Hysteria is the state of excitement surrounding basketball in Indiana or, more specifically, the Indiana high school basketball tournament. In part, the enthusiasm stemmed from the one-class tournament, in which a small town's David migh ...

College Basketball

College basketball is quite popular and draws TV high ratings. Every March, a 68-team, six-round, single-elimination tournament (commonly called March Madness) determines the national champions of

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...

men's college basketball.

Women's Basketball

The Women's National Basketball Association or WNBA is an organization governing a professional basketball league for women in the United States. The WNBA was formed in 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association, and league play began in 1997. The regular WNBA season is June to September (North American Spring and Summer). Most WNBA teams play at the same venue as their NBA counterparts. The WNBA is the premier professional Basketball league for women in the world. Despite being the premier women's basketball league the WNBA struggles to attract a large mainstream audience. Women's NCAA Basketball is also popular, although less so than men's basketball. The women's national team has won eight

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

gold medals and ten FIBA World Cups.

References

External links

* {{Sports in the United States