Basic Rules of Basketball

Number of Players per Team

Each basketball team has 5 players on the court at a time. Teams usually have several substitutes on the bench to rotate during the game.

Game Duration and Periods

1. Professional games (like the NBA) consist of 4 quarters, each lasting 12 minutes.
   
2. College basketball games use 2 halves of 20 minutes each.
   
3. High school games typically have 4 quarters of 8 minutes each.
   
4. The clock stops for fouls, violations, timeouts, and other stoppages.
   
   

Scoring System

1. 2-point field goal: A basket made from inside the three-point line.
   
2. 3-point field goal: A basket made from beyond the three-point line.
   
3. Free throws: Awarded after certain fouls, worth 1 point each. Taken from the free-throw line without opposition.
   
   

Violations

1. Traveling: Moving both feet without dribbling the ball.
   
2. Double dribble: Dribbling the ball, stopping, then dribbling again or dribbling with both hands simultaneously.
   
3. Backcourt violation: Once the ball crosses the mid-court line, the offensive team cannot take it back across the line.
   
4. Three-second violation: Offensive players can’t stay in the key (painted area near the basket) for more than 3 seconds.
   
5. Shot clock violation: Teams must attempt a shot within a set time (24 seconds in the NBA).
   
   

Fouls and Free Throws

1. Personal fouls occur when there’s illegal physical contact.
   
2. After a certain number of fouls, the fouled player is awarded free throws.
   
3. If fouled during a shooting attempt, the player gets 2 or 3 free throws depending on the shot.
   
4. Team fouls accumulate, leading to bonus free throws for the opposing team.
   
   

Overtime Rules

If the game is tied at the end of regulation, an overtime period is played (usually 5 minutes). Overtime continues with additional periods until one team leads at the end of the extra period.