Living The Life Of Basketball

Living in the life of Basketball This is the Future 6/11/2009

Akaylah M. Hayes

Living the life of Basketball

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asketball has been around almost 150 years. And it’s played all over the world. In all continents, but is mostly played in North America where it originated. Basketball has many leagues but there are few in the U. S.

There are five in modern day Basketball called D-league - Development league, WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association, NCAA – National Collegiate Athletic Association (Men and Women), CBA – Continental Basketball Association, and the most valuable of them all NBA – National Basketball League. So enjoy this paper and see how basketball takes part in so many people’s lives.

Dr. James A. Naismith creates the game of Basketball. James Naismith was born November 6, 1861 in Ontario, Canada

to

John Naismith and Margaret Young. In 1887 he goes to Presbyterian College of theology in Montreal and obtains his diploma in 1890. Then later on that year he moves to Massachusetts for Springfield College. December 21, 1891 James is introduced to the game of Basketball. The first game was different to what we see today the score was 1-0. June 20, 1894 he marries Maude E. Sherman and had five children. On November 28, 1895 he dies of a heart attack at age 78. Akaylah M. Hayes

James Naismith had 13 original rules but these are some other ones that we use now, in today’s game of basketball that are very important. Also I want to show you all of the positions there is to the game of basketball.

Rules of Basketball Basic Principles Most Important Block - The use of a defender's body position to illegally prevent an opponent's advance. Charge - A violation in which an offensive player runs into a stationary opponent. 3-second Violation - An offensive player may not stand in the lane for three seconds. Shot Clock - A team must attempt a shot that hits the rim within 24 seconds or else it loses possession of the ball. Travel - A violation in which a player takes too many steps without dribbling the ball. Double – A violation, in which a player dribbles the ball, stops, then begins to dribble again. Technical Foul - penalty for a violation of conduct, such as abusive language or fighting. Each technical foul awards a free throw to the opposing team and also means an automatic fine for the player who commits the violation.

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1 5 2 4 3

1: PG – Point Guard A team's primary ball handler and the man who sets up the team's offense. 2: SG – Shooting Guard A shooting guard's main objective is to score points for his/her team. 3: SF – Small Forward A prolific scorer and a strong defender. 4: PF - Power Forward They are normally among the physically strongest players on a basketball team. 5: C – Center The center is usually the tallest player on the team.

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Now I want to talk about the two major leagues that I personally like and a little about the legends and some of the players in the leagues currently. NBA June 6, 1944, 55 years after Basketball was invented NBA was started. Currently there has been 62 years of Basketball. Elon Genet was the first player signed to the NBA. November 1, 1946 in Toronto Canada was the NBA’s first game. The channels that aired the games during this time were usa, ESPN, TBS, and TNT. There have been 55 champions in the playoffs from 1946-2008. LA Lakers and the Boston Celtics has been rivals of the game since 1962. Over all there are about 150 retired Numbers. WNBA 33 years later April 24, 1997, the WNBA was created. The league kickoff was in June of 1997. The first person signed was Sheryl Swoopes, on October 23, 1996. They put WNBA in the summer so that it wouldn’t be so many games during the winter with NCAA and the NBA. The channels that aired WNBA games are NBC, ESPN, and lifetime. The first MVP was Cynthia Cooper. Also the first champion team was the Houston Comets. During the start of the WNBA there were only eight teams. WNBA’s ball is one inch smaller than NBA’s ball 28.5 inches. Here are the all time leaders, legends, and players that are currently in the league and their accomplishments.

All Time Leaders: Points Per Game 1. Michael Jordan

30.1

1. Wilt Chamberlain 3. LeBron James 4. Elgin Baylor

30.1 27.5 27.4

5. Allen Iverson 6. Jerry West

27.1 27.0

7. Bob Pettit

26.4

8. George Gervin

26.2

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9. Oscar Robertson

25.7

10. Kobe Bryant

25.1

LEGENDS Kareem Abdul Jabbar He had one championship with the bucks in 1971. He also had a championship with the Lakers in 1980, 82, 85, 87, and 1988. Kareem Abdul Jabb ar is the all time scoring leader (38,387). Kareem was MVP 7 times and rookie of the year. He lead in rebounding 1976 with 16.9 per game. Kareem was also the first in history to play for 20 seasons. He is a part of NBA’s greatest players. Michel Jordan Michel Jordan is one of the most popular basketball players in all of basketball. Michel was MVP five times in 1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, and 1998. Jordan has a shoe line that most of the NBA players wear called “JORDAN” or “Air JORDANS”. He has seven scoring titles. He was also rookie of the year1988. Michel was also slam dunk champion twice in 1987 1988. He was also defensive player of the year in the year of 1988. Michel Jordan is also a part of the NBA’s 50 greatest players. PLAYERS Kobe Bryant Kobe has token part of three championships in 1992, 1996, and 1998. He was scoring champion in 2006 and 2007. Kobe was on the NBA first team 7 times. He was on the NBA defensive team 9 thimes. Kobe Bryant was also the Slam Dunk Akaylah M. Hayes

champion in 1997. He had twenty 50 point games, and four 60 piont games. Kobe has Nike signature shoes with many different types. Kobe Bryant is also in 2009’s NBA Finals.

Candice Parker Candice Parker was a two-time national high-school player of the year in 2003 and 2004. She won the slam dunk contest at the 2004 McDonald's High School All-America game beating several future NBA players. “CP3” became the first woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game in 2006. She led the University of Tennessee to consecutive NCAA titles in 2007 and 2008. Candice was picked No. 1 overall by the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2008 WNBA Draft. She set a record for points scored in a WNBA debut (34 on May 17, 2008) and narrowly missed becoming the first rookie to notch a triple-double (34 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists). Parker became the second woman ever to dunk in a WNBA game on June 22, 2008---the first was L.A. Sparks teammate Lisa Leslie in 2002. What I like Favorite position: Point Guard - they get the ball the most. Favorite NCAA player: Blake Griffin – He dominates in the paint. Favorite NBA player: LeBron James – All around player. Favorite WNBA player: Candice Parker – she can dunk and she is my IDOL.

Resources http://www.naismithmuseum.com/naismith_drjamesnaismith/main_drjamesnaismith. htm http://hoopedia.nba.com/ Akaylah M. Hayes

http://hoopedia.nba.com/index.php?title=NBA_-_50_Greatest_Players www.insidehoops.com http://www.firstbasesports.com/basketball_glossary.html#backboard http://www.insidehoops.com/nba_alltime_stats.shtml http://www.nba.com/analysis/00422966.html http://hoopedia.nba.com/index.php?title=NBA_-_50_Greatest_Players http://www.nba.com/history/ http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/mayhem/history http://www.sitevip.net/larry_bird/achievements.htm http://www.iconomy.com/kareem33/list.html http://sitevip.net/michael_jordan/michael_jordan_achievements.htm http://www.nba.com/history/finals/champions.html] http://www.wnba.com/about_us/historyof_wnba.html http://www.wnba.com/history/

Akaylah M. Hayes