How to Keep Score in Five-on-Five Basketball

Series Summary

Basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith in 1891 in Springfield, Mass. It is no wonder the current basketball hall of fame is in the same location. Basketball is a very active sport that can be played indoors or outdoors. The indoor version is typically played in a gym on hardwood floors. Outdoor games are played on concrete courts. Basketball fundamentals include shooting, passing and dribbling the ball. Scoring is accumulated one point at a time at the free throw line, two points with jump shots and layups, and three points from beyond the arc or three-point line. Defensive schemes include the zone defense and pressing defense. In this free video series on how to play basketball, a former semi-professional basketball player explains fundamentals of this fun game. He discusses how to keep score in a five-on-five game, pickup game etiquette, make layups and set a pick. He also talks about how to make a jump shot, break the defensive press and how to take a charge. Finally learn about bounce passes, chest passes and dribble. Two of the three most fundamental aspects of hoops.

Video Transcript

"You know, when you're playing basketball, a lot of times you'll have the option of playing street basketball, or playing an official game on somebody's court. Hi, I'm Travis and this is how to keep score in a five on five basketball game. Let's talk about playing street ball. If you're playing pick up, or pick up for other people, if you're playing pick up and it's five on five, a lot of times what happens, now this could vary, depending on what you, what both teams come up with as a final score. What you do is you pick a final score. Let's say we're picking fifteen as what the final score is, so the first person, first team to make fifteen wins the game. And, usually in a pick up game, what happens is, the score will go by ones. So, if you have a court with a three point line, what you may choose to do is have the score go up by ones, but if someone hits a shot outside of that three point line, count it as two. Or, some places may go by twos, and anything outside of that three point line, they count it as three. Now, that's how you play pick up and keep score. Now, if we're talking about playing organized basketball in an official game, let's say high school, there is no number that magical number that you're going to go to. What's going to happen is you'll have a clock and you'll have both teams, and both of the teams just go at it, keeping score by twos to see which team has the highest score at the end of the game. Now, another portion of the high school, NBA, and College game that probably won't be, may or may not be in the pick up game is the three point rule. If you have the three point line, what you do is, anything outside of that three point line is of course, three points. Anything at the free throw line, once someone gets fouled is one point. There you have it, keeping score in a five on five basketball game."