Types of Basketballs

Series Summary

In December of 1891, a Canadian by the name of James Naismith, a physical education student and instructor at a local YMCA, was looking for a way to stay fit during the long winter months. Needing to stay indoors, Naismith nailed a peach basket to a ten foot elevated track in the gymnasium and basketball was born. At first the basket retained its bottom, meaning the ball had to be retrieved after every basket, but soon improvements were made and an iron rim and cloth net replaced the wooden peach basket. Basketball continued to evolve over the next century and rose out of obscurity into one of the most popular sports in the world.

In this free video series, our expert Travis Corpening will teach you all about the basketball court and its rules. He'll teach you about the different types of basketballs, all about basketball shoes, and how to use the backboard. He'll also tell you about the 3 point line, protective basketball gear, the net and rim, the 5 second rule, the ten second free throw rule, and the double dribble rule. He'll even tell you about the traveling rule, the over and back rule, and the goal tending rule.

Video Transcript

"Generally you have different types of balls, all different types. Nowadays they go from, you got balls you can pump up yourself, you got balls that range and vary as far as price. I've seen balls that cost two dollars; I've seen balls that cost fifty to a hundred dollars. The types of ball that you play with generally is based on where you're playing. If you're playing outside, which, like we are today, you usually use an outdoor rubber ball. Indoor, you use a leather. And, now they do have, they do have transitional balls that go back and forth, they go leather, synthetic leather which go outdoor or indoor, but for our purposes today, we're going to use a rubber ball. Also, when you're talking about balls, you also got to think about whose playing, and that goes to gender. Female balls tend to be a little smaller than the guys balls. So, keep that in mind whenever you're picking out a basketball to play with."