The Smart Reason There Are Black Lines on Basketballs (2024)
Whether you're playing basketball on a regulation court or on your driveway at home, the ball in your hand likely looks a certain way. A standard basketball has a pebbled exterior that's separated into eight panels by thin black lines. Those lines do more than give the ball its distinctive look. According to Basketball Word, the lines on a basketball make the sport easier to play.
Like the dots covering the outside of a basketball, the ball's grooves make it easier to handle. In a game that requires players to maneuver around a court while dribbling a ball, control is key. The basketball's lines allow players to grip the ball better and steer it in a different direction in the brief moment when it makes contact with their hand. If the ball was completely smooth, guiding it would be much harder. Anyone who has ever played with an old basketball with worn-away lines already knows how much of a difference those thin strips of rubber make.
Today we take a basketball's functional design as a given, but it wasn't always part of the game. Early in the sport's history, basketball was played with smooth soccer balls on an oil-polished hardwood court. In those days, keeping a grip on the ball was almost as hard as getting it in the basket. Dribbling hadn't been introduced by this point (players had to throw the ball from where they caught it) so that likely made things easier.
To learn more about basketball, check out these facts about the game's origins.
The basketball's lines allow players to grip the ball better and steer it in a different direction in the brief moment when it makes contact with their hand. If the ball was completely smooth, guiding it would be much harder.
Pretty much all basketballs usually look a certain way, mostly all the same. Your regular basketball has a pebbled exterior, separated into eight panels by thin black lines.
The lines that run the length of the basketball court and mark the boundary are called the “sidelines", whilst the lines that are marked out behind each backboard are called the “endlines”, or sometimes the “baselines”.
Have you noticed the bumps on a basketball? These are called pebbles, and they create friction between the ball and a player's hand. Pebbles make the basketball less slippery, so it's easier to grip while dribbling down the court.
The mid court line divides the court in half. Offensively, once the ball crosses the Mid Court Line, it becomes a boundary line reducing the offensive playing area to just half of the court. Also, on most levels, the offensive team only has 8 to 10 seconds to advance the ball across the mid court line.
Obviously, a black hole will shoot the ball more often than they will pass it, but they do it in a bad way. For example, Ray Allen's job in recent years has been mainly to shoot the ball, but because that's his main expectation from his team, I wouldn't consider him a black hole. He's merely filling a role.
Sportsbooks assign moneyline odds to each team based on their likelihood of winning and to balance the handle on both sides. Minus odds indicate a favorite, while plus odds indicate an underdog.
According to racial equality activist Richard Lapchick, the NBA in 2021 was composed of 73.2 percent black players, 16.8 percent white players, 3.1 percent Latino players of any race, and 0.4 percent Asian players.
3-and-D. Any player, typically not a star, who specializes mainly in three-point shooting ("3") and defense ("D"). The term is most often used in the NBA, where this specific skill set has been increasingly valued in the 21st century.
Professional NBA and College Basketball court is 94 feet (29 m) by 50 feet (15 m). International Basketball the court 28 meters (92 ft) by 15 meters (49 ft). High school, and Junior High court 84 feet (26 m) by 50 feet (15 m).
Each free throw attempt shall be made within 10 seconds after the ball has been placed at the disposal of the free-thrower. After a successful free throw which is not followed by another free throw, the ball shall be put into play by a throw-in, as after a field goal if the try is successful.
The over/under, or “total,” and the moneyline are the two other common bets made on NBA games. The total (combined points by both teams) is set by the sportsbook, and bettors can choose to bet over or under the total. Those bets normally have -110 odds. The moneyline eliminates the point spread.
The Black lines on basketball are actually grooves that make the ball easier to handle as they increase the surface area for a better grip. In basketball dribbling is an important skill and for that getting a good grip of the ball is very important.
Wilson, which was the official game ball for the league's first 37 seasons, returns to the NBA. CHICAGO, June 17, 2021 — Wilson Sporting Goods Co., in partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA), today unveiled the league's new official game ball in advance of the NBA's 75th anniversary season.
The WNBA, on the other hand, uses a basketball that is slightly smaller than the one used in the NBA. The official basketball size in the WNBA is 28.5 inches in circumference, making it one inch smaller than the NBA basketball. The weight of the WNBA basketball is around 20 ounces.
NBA players usually wear it on the shoulder region of their uniform to pay honor to an iconic personality of basketball who has passed away. They frequently wear this black stripe to pay tribute to all important people who were once a part of this league but are no more.
Art. 4. A shadow line is a line that designates the required 2-inch width by use of border or outline lines at least 1/4- inch wide, which shall lie within the 2-inch width.
One of the primary factors that may have influenced the NBA's decision is the quality and performance of the basketballs. Over the years, there have been concerns raised by players and coaches about the consistency and durability of the Spalding basketballs.
In sports, a hash mark or hash line is a short line/bar marking that is painted perpendicular to the sidelines or side barricades, used to help referees and players recognize on-field locations and visually measure distances.
Introduction: My name is Pres. Carey Rath, I am a faithful, funny, vast, joyous, lively, brave, glamorous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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