Olympic Basketball (men’s quarter-finals and women’s semi-finals onwards)

244 athletes compete for just 2 gold medal places

Basketball came originally from Canada when it was invented by James Naismith as a way to keep fit during the winter months for the YMCA students. Since then, basketball has gained incredible support worldwide with more than thirty countries being represented in the American National Basketball Association.

During the Olympic Games, basketball will be played on an indoor court in teams of five players. Baskets are located at each end of the court at a height of ten feet off the floor. Each game is played in ten minute quarters, with the end of play being swapped at half time.

Basketball first became a medal sport in the Olympics in 1936 and has since been dominated by the US men’s team. Women’s basketball entered the games in 1976 and is also largely dominated by the US. Basketball was played as an exhibition tournament in 1904 and the early games were also played outdoors making the game considerably different from the modern day version.

The basketball itself is around 24 centimetres diameter with the hoop being 46 centimetres and generally favours the taller players, the tallest of whom was Yao Ming at seven foot six inches. Michael Jordan has been widely recognised as the best player of all time with the highest point average of all players.