With the NBA playoffs underway, basketball is a popular topic these days. Not to mention that with summer around the corner, kids everywhere will be running out to the courts to shoot hoops with friends.
Initially, basketball seems so simple with just a ball and net, but there is actually a lot of science involved in the sport. Players can engage their muscles, cardio-vascular systems, hand-eye coordination, and agility. And there are scientific principles involved in every play. Trajectory, force, gravity, energy, motion, air pressure, percentage all interplay to make a successful game. Consider this…despite what most people might think, aiming for the center of the basket actually decreases the likelihood of a successful shot!
I love all things science and am passionate about bringing science to the public through writing. With an M.S. in Genetics and experience in cancer research, marketing and technical writing, it is a pleasure to share the latest trends and findings in science on LabRoots.
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The Science of Basketball
Pass, dribble and shoot! It is time for March Mania basketball – one of the most famous annual sporting events in the US. Whether you are watching college teams on TV or playing in the backyard, basketball is fun because of Science! I betcha’ didn’t know there was science involved in the sport of basketball!
Bouncing the ball on the ground, passing to your teammate, and shooting at the goal all depend on physics, math and the laws of motion.
Origins of Basketball
By Evdcoldeportes via Wikimedia Commons
Basketball is considered the first sport that completely originated in the United States. It was invented in December of 1891 when Dr. James Naismith nailed up some peach baskets in a gym. Basketballs today are designed to bounce around the court and soar in an orange arc from your hands into the basket. But were they always like this? Why do they have those bumps on them?
When the sport was first invented soccer balls were used and players had a harder time holding on to and dribbling the ball than they did shooting a basket. The orange, bumpy ball we know today was developed as a result of problems players were having trying to play this brand new game.
Changes they made to the ball included making them bigger and adding bumps to the leather surface. This added bounce and friction to the equation. Modern basketballs are hollow with an inflatable inner rubber bladder and have a small opening that lets you control the air pressure. This hollow center is generally wrapped in layers of fiber and finally covered with leather, which is usually bright orange so players can easily see them. They took a problem – slippery, not so bouncy ball – and engineered a solution!
Basketballs bounce because of the pressurized air inside of them, gravity and Newton’s Laws of Motion.
When you dribble a basketball, your hand and gravity both push the ball towards the ground (Law #1). As it drops, the ball accelerates and speeds up (Law #2). It wants to stay in motion so the ball pushes into the ground when it hits, compressing the air inside. The ground pushes up with an equal, but opposite amount of force resulting in the ball bouncing back up in to your hand (Law #3). The energy in the compressed air is transferred back to the ball pushing it back into motion. If you were to take your hand away and stop dribbling, the ball would continue to bounce due to Newton’s first law, but would slow down and eventually stop due to friction.
The more air pressure inside, the harder it will push on the sides of the ball and the more bounce you’ll get. This is why an under inflated ball won’t bounce very well because there is not enough air pressure inside to maintain the forces necessary for bounce.
Why the bumps?
Image Source: Pixabay.com
So the last detail they added to their new ball was little bumps on the surface of the leather called pebbling. Adding these bumps was all about friction. When forces collide, friction naturally slows things down over time and the more points of contact an object has with another surface the more friction comes into play. So the bumps on the basketball basically increase the surface area of the ball and the amount of friction acting on it. This makes the pebbled ball ideal for a player to grip, pass quickly, and dribble without fear that the ball will slip away in a random direction.
Next time you shoot some hoops, observe all the features of the basketball that make it special. It’s a great example of engineering and American innovation in action!
Try this fun, at-home STEM basketball activity: http://sciencemadefunwnc.net/downloads/basketball_STEM.pdf
Author Science Made Fun!Posted on Categories E-News HTHTTags basketball, bounce, friction, march, motion, newton's laws, science of basketball, STEM
When you have the coolest sneakers. Forward does unusual business
Houston forward PJ Tucker invests wisely and changes the rules of the sneaker culture game.
Basketball players' creativity has long gone beyond the court, now it's not enough for players to beat an opponent with a graceful pivot or give a sly pass. Showing your creative nature when creating an individual brand or investing your own investments is no less important today than personal statistics.
Just look at Houston's forward P.J. Tucker, the owner of the most extensive and expensive collection of sports shoes in the NBA, and a man who skillfully capitalizes on his addiction to rare sneakers.
Tucker didn't have a fat contract like LeBron James or Kevin Durant, nor did he have his own line of signature sneakers. He had the standard Nike deal on hand, so Tucker reasonably concluded that if I couldn't wear anything but Nike, then I'd be sporting that company's designs that even its highest paid stars don't have. PJ didn't just start spending huge sums on sneakers, he made every effort to become part of the sneaker culture, a huge part of which, despite its popularity, still remains in the shadows.
Tucker started his own network of people called P! net, which monitor all the iconic online sneaker auctions. This applies to both completely legal StockX.com, SnipesUSA, as well as sites that work only on the dark web and which often pop up test copies of yet unreleased sneakers, or modifications of rare colors, models and materials.
Sneakers, which, according to the results of the auction, turn out to be with Tucker, he, according to his own assurances, puts on a couple of times for matches, no more.
- I love sneakers, but for me, buying another pair is not only a way to amuse my ego, it is also an investment. I can say that I act as an advertising model. My advantage is that my persona does not obscure the product, as is often the case with stars. The kids sometimes admire them so much that they are ready to buy everything with the initials of their hero, while I rely on exclusivity. I go to a prime time match in an Air Jordan 3 Kobe and people in the know see it and are able to understand what it means and how much it costs. The conclusion of such transactions on an ongoing basis brings me not only a significant profit, but also pleasure, reputation, - says Tucker.
https://twitter.com/slamonline/status/1041412
6209922
Tucker knows what he's talking about. He is on a short footing not only with Joe La Puma (editor of the largest sneaker resource Complex) and Ethan Reid (a 20-year-old collector who sold sneakers for 225 thousand dollars last year), but also an original rentier. The Rockets player bought warehouse properties in New York, Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles to equip hangars for storing sneakers and then renting out the premises. Temperature, security system, immunity guarantee, insurance - all this will be provided to those who no longer have enough space to shove their collection into boxes and cellars.
According to Tucker, this project is not for the elite, but for people who "are not yet in the big leagues, but have already reached a certain level to understand that you must first invest yourself in order to learn the return over time." Tucker himself has already been taught such wisdom, so he does not expect collectors to immediately run to him, if only to leave their collections worth hundreds of thousands in his bins.
- It doesn't work like that. Everything must be done in a complex. The rental business is promising and long-term, but I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket, which is why I open my own sneaker store in Houston,” Tucker admitted in an interview with Sneakernews.
Even the suddenly raging coronavirus pandemic could not pacify the enterprising PJ. If the opening of the store had to be postponed until the fall, then Tucker played the release of his own capsule collection of clothes as timely as possible. Tucker's spring wardrobe was inspired by the idea of social distancing, and the player transferred all the funds raised to the account of an organization that delivers ready-made meals to low-income families in Houston.
Tucker, who was already one of the most curious characters in the league before, now shows how, without being a star with offensive potential, wisely invest in what he loves and at the same time not put himself in a dependent position from sponsors. This spring, his contract with Nike expired, and there were a lot of applicants for signing the colorful striker.
PJ signed a new agreement with the same sponsor, only this time he dictated the terms. The details of the deal were not disclosed, but, in addition to increasing the amount of the contract, Tucker is rumored to have included a number of clauses, some of which allow him to customize signature models of NBA stars using materials not even available to them.
In other words, what will be allowed to Tucker will not be allowed to LeBron. If this is true, then James will have to ask PJ for a discount on buying his own sneakers from his store.
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Kobe Bryant: basketball legend and maniac who lived the game to the last second of his life
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Nikolay LISITSYN
January 27, 2020 18:21 0
Photo: Photo: REUTERS
"My dear basketball, I love you!"
Kobe Bryant's personal helicopter crashed near Calabasas, California on January 26 as the NBA legend and his daughter Gianna, along with seven other passengers, were flying to basketball practice. Nobody survived the plane crash. 13-year-old daughter Kobe was a rising talent, and her father trained her at his own academy. And at the same time - and the school team, where Gianna played. He lived basketball until the last second of his life.
"My dear basketball, Ever since that moment How I started balling up my father's socks And making imaginary game-winning shots At the old Lakers arena Great Western Forum, I realized one thing: I love you. This passion was so strong, That I gave you all of myself: My thoughts, mind and body, my soul."
This was the beginning of Bryant's farewell letter, which he wrote in 2016 when he decided to retire. Two years later, he will receive an Oscar for an animated short film based on this poem.
Could become a great among the greats
The Los Angeles Lakers, to which Bryant devoted all 20 years of his career, never lacked stars. But Kobe managed to become one of the greatest, and everyone recognized this - both those who liked him, and those whom he annoyed with his selfishness on the court, and those with whom he openly feuded. Bryant was not a good boy and a good guy - neither in life nor on the court. But he was an athlete to the core, the embodiment of passion, struggle and competition - a maniac obsessed with the result. Kobe himself called himself the Black Mamba, admiring the "attacking skills and ability to improve his abilities" of this snake. And he worked on himself to the point of insanity, taking an example from the best basketball players and learning their movements to the nearest millimeter.
The love and hate story of Kobe and Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal) is known to all NBA fans. After the end of their careers, the legends, who quarreled at the beginning of the 2000s, reconciled. Kobe even helped O'Neil's son Sharif train.
- There are no words to express the pain I feel now in connection with this tragic and sad moment when I lose my beautiful Gigi and my friend, my brother, my partner in victorious championships. I love you and I will miss you. My condolences to the Bryant family and the families of the other helicopter passengers. I feel terrible! – responded Shaquille O'Neal .
Magic Johnson, himself a recognized legend of the Lakers in the 20th century, called Kobe Bryant the best player in the history of the club. Magic had a rivalry with Michael Jordan, Kobe in the 21st century with LeBron James. For the past three years, this rivalry has been in absentia. LeBron set a goal to overtake Kobe, and overtook.
Just a day before the plane crash, he passed Bryant on the NBA's all-time leading scorer list, moving up to third place. James had 33,655 points, Bryant had 33,643 left. Kobe was the first to congratulate his colleague on the achievement: "I have great respect for my brother." And this congratulation was his last post on social networks. And LeBron, having learned about the death of Bryant at the airport on the way to the next game, burst into tears.
- My friend, legend, father, husband, son, brother, the greatest Lakers player of all time has left us. It's hard to accept. Kobe was the leader. Words cannot describe the impact he had on basketball, - the famous Magic Johnson reacted to Mamba's death.
The whole world honored the memory of Kobe
Kobe has long stepped beyond the basketball court, and indeed basketball, becoming one of the world famous symbols - basketball, sports, Los Angeles, America, and even himself. Therefore, the tragedy shook the whole world. Many people expressed their condolences on social networks - from Donald Trump to ordinary fans, from football clubs to tennis players (for example, Elina Svitolina called Kobe Bryant "her biggest inspiration"). From show business stars to the staff at the Staples center where the Los Angeles Lakers played their home games. In it, on the evening of January 26, the Grammy Awards ceremony was held, which began with a moment of silence and a song dedicated to Bryant.
- I loved Kobe - he was like a little brother to me. We often talked with him, and I will miss these conversations. He was a fierce competitor, one of the greatest, a creative force. And also - an amazing father who loved his family very much and was proud of how his daughter fell in love with basketball. Mamba forever. Our condolences go out to Kobe and Gianna's family and to everyone affected by today's tragedy, wrote Michael Jordan, another NBA legend.
By the way, the NBA didn't cancel games on the day Kobe crashed. But fans chanted his name before the start of each game. And the teams paid tribute to Bryant's memory: at the beginning of the game, one team owned the ball for 24 seconds under the chants of the fans, then the ball passed to the second according to the rules - and it also held the ball without taking any action. It was symbolic: 24 is one of two game numbers (at the beginning of his career he played under the 8th) of Bryant.
- The NBA family is devastated by the tragic death of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna. He was one of the most extraordinary players in the history of our sport with legendary accomplishments. But most of all, he will be remembered for inspiring people around the world to pick up a basketball and fight with all their might. He saw it as his mission to share his wisdom with future generations of players and especially enjoyed passing on his love of basketball to Gianna, wrote the NBA 9 commissioner.0091 Adam Silver.
BTW
A fan predicted Kobe's death in a plane crash 7 years ago
One of Kobe Bryant's fans predicted his death in a plane crash seven years ago. Thus, a fan registered on Twitter under the nickname ".Noso" recalled his tweet published on November 13, 2012. It directly stated: “Kobe will die in a helicopter crash. Bryant, ".Noso", still active on social media, has posted several tweets berating himself at the top of his lungs, not wanting to believe that he "screamed" his idol to death.0003
Kobe Bryant: why he is great. Why We'll Remember Him
Kobe Bryant is one of the most famous NBA players in league history. He spent his entire NBA career with the same team, the Los Angeles Lakers. Known by the nickname "Black Mamba". Played as an attacking defender. Drafted 13th overall in the 19th NBA Draft in the first round96 by the Charlotte Hornets, after which he was immediately transferred to the Lakers.
Bryant was a five-time NBA champion with the Lakers, a two-time Finals MVP, and the 2008 MVP.
Kobe played in 18 All-Star Games and was the MVP of those matches four times. His four All-Star Game MVP awards are the best in NBA history. Named to the NBA First Team 11 times. During his career in the league, Bryant scored 33,643 points.
Kobe also became a two-time Olympic champion in the US team (2008, 2012).
On April 14, 2016, he retired from the NBA with 60 points in his last game against Utah.
Since 2001, he has been married to Mexican-born dancer Vanessa Lane. The couple had four daughters: Natalia Diment Bryant in 2003, Gianna Maria-Honore Bryant in 2006, Bianca Bella Bryant in 2016 and Capri Bryant in 2019.
"We gave each other
everything we could.
And we both know that no matter what I do next,
I will always be that boy,
Who rolled his socks into balls
And stood in front of the urn in the corner.
5 seconds left on the scoreboard,
The ball is in my hands.
5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1
I will always love you.
Your Kobe".
Stanislav Medvedenko: "I don't know who else could inspire like Kobe"
The Ukrainian basketball player and two-time NBA champion was lucky to become Kobe Bryant's teammate in the Lakers. , Medvedenko wrote a farewell letter to Bryant.0003
"Bryant is not just a great basketball player. The man who died yesterday in a helicopter crash with his daughter is one of the best athletes of all time. An idol for millions, a role model, a symbol of his time.
Much more important is that he - father, son, husband, friend... Knowing that he and his daughter Giana will never hug each other and their closest people again is a million times more painful than knowing that we will never see Bryant again in some kind of basketball.
I think that even in terms of basketball it will only take a couple of years and we can easily forget about the main thing, remembering it in the first place for 81 points per game, for 5 titles and hundreds of millions of dollars earned. It was very cool, of course, but I think that the main thing is different.
I've seen different versions of him, I'm familiar with a number of different versions of Kobe Bryant - good and bad. There have been better basketball players, there have been better teammates, but has there ever been a player who worked as hard on himself to get better?
A basketball player who was just as furiously crazy because his opponent played well? It is unlikely. Let someone try to convince me.
..
..
Whether you are watching college teams on TV or playing in the backyard, basketball is fun because of Science! I betcha’ didn’t know there was science involved in the sport of basketball!
The ground pushes up with an equal, but opposite amount of force resulting in the ball bouncing back up in to your hand (Law #3). The energy in the compressed air is transferred back to the ball pushing it back into motion. If you were to take your hand away and stop dribbling, the ball would continue to bounce due to Newton’s first law, but would slow down and eventually stop due to friction. 
So the bumps on the basketball basically increase the surface area of the ball and the amount of friction acting on it. This makes the pebbled ball ideal for a player to grip, pass quickly, and dribble without fear that the ball will slip away in a random direction. 
ru 
I go to a prime time match in an Air Jordan 3 Kobe and people in the know see it and are able to understand what it means and how much it costs. The conclusion of such transactions on an ongoing basis brings me not only a significant profit, but also pleasure, reputation, - says Tucker. 
Nobody survived the plane crash. 13-year-old daughter Kobe was a rising talent, and her father trained her at his own academy. And at the same time - and the school team, where Gianna played. He lived basketball until the last second of his life. 
Bryant was not a good boy and a good guy - neither in life nor on the court. But he was an athlete to the core, the embodiment of passion, struggle and competition - a maniac obsessed with the result. Kobe himself called himself the Black Mamba, admiring the "attacking skills and ability to improve his abilities" of this snake. And he worked on himself to the point of insanity, taking an example from the best basketball players and learning their movements to the nearest millimeter. 
I feel terrible! – responded Shaquille O'Neal . 
Kobe was the leader. Words cannot describe the impact he had on basketball, - the famous Magic Johnson reacted to Mamba's death. 
But most of all, he will be remembered for inspiring people around the world to pick up a basketball and fight with all their might. He saw it as his mission to share his wisdom with future generations of players and especially enjoyed passing on his love of basketball to Gianna, wrote the NBA 9 commissioner.0091 Adam Silver. 
Why We'll Remember Him 
The couple had four daughters: Natalia Diment Bryant in 2003, Gianna Maria-Honore Bryant in 2006, Bianca Bella Bryant in 2016 and Capri Bryant in 2019. 
