How to Divide Basketball Teams

It's important to fairly divide basketball teams.

Basketball is one of the United States' most popular team sports, with 24.4 million people over age 7 having played it more than once, according to the National Sporting Goods Association's 2009 sports participation survey. Little kids up through senior citizens can enjoy the game at a variety of venues. Pickup games on the playground work just as well as organized leagues in school gyms. No matter the level, though, it's important how you divide the teams. It won't be any fun if the game is a mismatch.

Instructions

1. Put someone in charge. In a street pickup game, choose two captains who divide the players into two teams. Have rotating captains, or use set criteria such as the players with the most seniority or the high scorers from the previous game get to be captain. Recreational leagues often have drafts where the coaches pick the players they want.

2. Assess the talent level. Try to split up the best players. Most players want to be challenged in games as opposed to winning in a rout against lesser opponents. So let Team A pick the best player, while Team B gets the second-best player. Continue the process until the teams are filled.

3. Distribute the positions. Basketball has five standard positions--point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward and center--that are based on different skill sets. You don't want five point guards playing against five centers. In pickup games, it's harder to distribute the positions because it depends on who shows up. Still, captains should consider the player's positions when dividing teams.

4. Consider dividing teams by age group and gender. Certainly, there are cases when girls are better than boys and younger people can compete with older players. The teams should be decided on a game-by-game basis. However, a 15-year-old may have trouble competing with men in their 30s. Organized leagues on the youth and adult levels often have rules that divide teams by gender and ages.

Tips & Warnings

• Use fewer players if needed. Basketball uses five players to a team. That doesn't mean, however, that you can't play with fewer players. If only six people are present, have a three against three game. If there are eight people, have four against four.

• Pickup games can get rough. Fouls often aren't called on the playground, which allows for more pushing and shoving on the court.

References

• National Sporting Goods Association: 2009 Participation Ranked by Total Participation

Resources

• USA Basketball