Home »
Misc »
How many lines are on a basketball
How many lines are on a basketball
Basketball Court Lines
Home>Sports>Basketball>Basketball Rules
PreviousNext
Any basketball court has various lines marking different parts of the basketball court, and each line has its own specific role in the way a basketball game is played. Read on to learn about the lines on a basketball court and what each line means.
Table of Contents
- What are the lines on a basketball court?
- The Baselines (End Lines)
- The Sidelines
- The Boundary Lines
- The Free Throw Line (Foul Line)
- The Lane Lines (Paint or Key)
- The Midcourt Line (Half-Court Line)
- The Three Point Line (Three Point Arc)
- The Restricted Area
- The Hash Marks
- FAQ
What are the lines on a basketball court?
It's important to learn the lines on a basketball court to understand the game. Every line on the court has a purpose. Here are all the lines on a basketball court:
- Baselines (End Lines)
- Sidelines
- Boundary Lines
- Free throw Line (Foul Line)
- Lane lines (Paint or Key)
- Midcourt line (Half-court Line)
- Three Point Line (Three Point Arc)
- Restricted area
- Hash Marks
The Baselines (End Lines)
The baselines, also known as end lines, are located on the ends of the court.![]()
The baselines denote inbounds and out of bounds on each side of the court. If the ball goes out of bounds across the baseline, players will stand behind the baseline and to the side of the backboard to inbound the ball. Depending on who you talk to, you may hear someone call these lines either the baselines or end lines. Baselines are 50 feet long.
The Sidelines
On the sides of the court are the sidelines. Like the baselines, the sidelines mark the boundaries between inbounds and out of bounds. If a player steps on these lines or crosses them, he is out of bounds. Behind the sidelines are where the benches and scorers table are located, home to the head coach, players, officials, and media. The sidelines are 94 feet long.
The Boundary Lines
The sidelines and baselines make up the perimeter of a basketball court. Together, they form the boundary lines dividing the court between inbounds and out of bounds. If the ball or a player in possession of the ball touches any boundary line, they will be called out of bounds, and the ball will be given to the opposing team.
The boundary lines measure 94 feet (sidelines) by 50 feet (baselines).
The Free Throw Line (Foul Line)
The free throw line or the foul line is used by players during free throws when a player is fouled while in the shooting motion, after a technical or flagrant foul, or when a team is in the bonus. If awarded a free throw, a player will stand behind the foul line and shoot an uncontested shot that is worth one point. A foul on a two-point shot that doesn’t go in awards two free throws, and a foul on a three point shot that doesn’t go in is worth three points. The free throw line is further away from the basket in the NBA and college basketball compared to high school basketball. Free throw lines are 12 feet in length. They are 15 feet from the backboard and 19 feet from the baseline in the NBA.
The Lane Lines (Paint or Key)
The lane lines are two lines that perpendicularly attach to the baselines and free throw lines. The rectangular area created by the free throw line and two lane lines is usually painted and referred to as either the “key” or the “paint.
” The lane lines are 19 feet long in the NBA.
Players are not allowed to stay within this area for more than three seconds, or they will be called for a violation. However, a defensive three-second violation is only assessed at the professional level since NCAA and high school basketball permits defenders to stay in the paint for any length of time.
The Midcourt Line (Half-Court Line)
The midcourt line is located in the middle of the court and divides it equally into two pieces. It is also known as the half-court line. The midcourt line is used to equally divide the court and to call backcourt violations, which happen when a team with possession crosses mid-court and brings the ball back into their side of the court without the other team touching it. A backcourt violation will not be called if the defense deflects the ball into the other side of the court. The midcourt line is the same length as the baseline, which is 50 feet.
The Three Point Line (Three Point Arc)
The three point line, or three point arc, surrounds each team's basket.
It is used to determine how many points a field goal is worth. A team will earn two points if the shot is taken on or inside the three point line and goes into the basket. If a shot is taken outside the three point line and goes into the basket, a team will earn three points. If any part of a player's shoe is touching the line prior to releasing the ball, it will count as two points.
It is important to note that the distance between the three point line and the basket varies depending on what level of basketball is being played. The NBA three point line is the furthest away, followed by FIBA, the WNBA, and college basketball. Lastly, the high school three point line is the closest.
The radius of the three point line at each level of basketball is as follows:
- NBA: 23ft 9in
- FIBA, WNBA, & College: 22ft 2in
- High School: 19ft 9in
The Restricted Area
The restricted area (also known as the restricted zone or restricted arc) is a semicircle located under the basket, with a four-foot radius in the NBA.
In college basketball, the restricted area is slightly smaller and has a radius of three feet. High school and lower levels of basketball don’t have a restricted area marked on the court.
In this area, offensive charging fouls are not called. A defender inside or on the restricted area is not considered a legal guarding position and cannot draw a charging foul from their opponent. This means that even if a charge occurred, a defender inside the restricted area will be called for a blocking foul because they are within the restricted area and made contact with a driving opponent.
The Hash Marks
The hash marks are small lines connected to the lane lines. They run in rows towards the basket on either side of the free throw line. These lines denote where the non-shooting players should stand during a free throw. Only three players on each side of the painted area are permitted to stand within the hash marks during free throws. Players are not allowed to encroach inside of the hash marks, as this could interfere with the player taking the free throw.
There are also two sets of hash marks on each sideline, which mark the area where coaches and players can stand in relation to the scorer’s table.
FAQ
What do the lines on a basketball court mean?
There are many lines on a basketball court that have different purposes. The most important lines to know on the basketball court are the boundary lines, which mark the area of the court which is in play and the area that is out of bounds. The boundary lines consist of the two sidelines and the two baselines that form the rectangular boundary of the court. The midcourt line separates the two halves of the court. Free throw lines are used to mark the locations where players shoot free throws, and the three point line marks the distance where shots become worth three points instead of two.
What is the name of the line below the basketball hoop?
The name of the line below the basketball hoop is called the “restricted area.” Inside of this line, defenders will not be able to draw a charge, even if they have set their feet before contact.
Thus, when attempting to draw a charge, a defender should stay out of this area when setting their feet.
What is the name of the line that separates a basketball court in the middle?
The midcourt line, also known as the half-court line, is the line that runs through the middle of a basketball court and separates the two halves. The midcourt line is used to divide the two sides of a basketball court equally. Each team will attack offensively on one basket and defend on the other. The midcourt line is also used to call backcourt violations, which occur when a team in possession of the ball crosses the midcourt line to play offense and brings the ball back over midcourt to their defensive side of the court.
PreviousNext
Pages Related to Basketball Court Lines
- Basketball Court Components
- Basketball Free Throws
- Basketball Court Boundary Lines
- Basketball Dribbling
- Basketball Field Goals
- Basketball Clocks And Time
PreviousNext
How Many Dots Does A Basketball Have? Quick Look – Basketball Word!
Spalding was one of the first companies to produce the official game ball for basketball professionally.
Still today they are the official basketball of the NBA. But one thing many people often wonder is what is the purpose of those dots and exactly how many are there on the ball.
How many dots does a basketball have? A Men’s basketball which is 29.5 inches in circumference has 122 dots per square inch on the basketball. This roughly translates to over 35000 dots (also called pebbles, dimples, or bumps) over the total surface area of the basketball.
What is the point of those small dots, dimples, or bumps on the basketball? What are they called, exactly what is the use for them? Is that there for design or decoration? After being a little curious and researching the purpose of these dots, all this will be answered further down below.
If you are interested in checking out the best basketball equipment and accessories then you can find them by Clicking Here! The link will take you to Amazon.com
What is the purpose of the dots on the basketball?
The purpose of the dots on basketball is not just for show or decoration but to provide the necessary grip for the basketball player to have control of the ball.
The dots provide more points of contact with the hand of the player or the hardwood court and basket. This design gives maximum control possible to the player. Spalding was the first to come up with this design while everyone else followed suit.
What are those little bumps called then?There is no right terminology for these dots but you can see that they are raised small bumps that are circular and are all over the ball. The bumps on the basketball is a special design that has stayed relevant for many years coupled with the basketball material of being leather, this was the perfect duo to provide basketball players around the world with maximum control.
Basketball Design
You will see these raised pebbles on a basketball on almost every type of ball, leather, composite, and rubber. There is a reason for this and that is because it is by far the best design for a basketball.
This basketball design is efficient in being resilient to players sweating all over the ball and having sweaty hands from the vigorous play during a basketball game.
There is a reason they have people who mop up the sweat during the free-throw line as these players are standing in one spot dripping in sweat, the floor would be slippery and players would get hurt.
In the case of the basketball design with all those small pebbles, there are times where the ball may need to be wiped with a towel but most often than not it does the job protecting the surface area of the ball from being wet. This prevents any slip-ups with the ball while shooting and dribbling during the game for maximum performance.
Why do basketballs have lines?
Each basketball has 8 panels that make up the basketball. Separating those panels are the lines usually black in color which is made of rubber. These lines are there to give the hand of the player grip and control of the basketball. If you notice a used worn-out basketball is harder to control without the lines, as the basketball’s grip is worn down to the lines making it one even surface. Having the lines will help the basketball player control and stop the basketball very briefly in the hand so he/she can control it.
What are the dimensions of a basketball?
A Men’s size 7 basketball is 29,5 inches in circumference and around 9.5 in diameter. It weighs 22 oz and requires anywhere from 7.5 to 8.5 PSI also know as pounds per square inch. More on these measurements and of other size balls click here!
Related Readings:
- Your guide to inflating a basketball the right way
- Basketball size chart choosing the right size
- 10 Must have basketball accessories
How many pimples a basketball has: sly2m — LiveJournal
He used to have a calculator, and he calculated everything,
and now he has WolphramAlpha, so now he’s generally ...
Wandered into Wikipedia, started reading about one thing, then follow the links about something else, and as usual - let's go.
I stopped, as usual, at a completely abstract article, it turned out to be an article about a basketball.
An "interesting fact" is given at the very end - Basketball has an average of 9 342 059 pimples.
And even a link to the source of this interesting fact is provided, leading to the site allexperts.com, where experts gather to give various facts a scientific explanation.
This number alerted me right away. It can be seen that the author of the article has a poor idea of what a million is (especially nine million).
A million is really very, very, very much. Really a lot. Seeing a million things at once is extremely difficult.
Do you think there are "a million" stars in the sky? An-no. Barely 6000 will be typed, visible to the naked eye.
A million can be seen at once and in one place, if, say, you cover the floor in a large empty room (for example, a hall) with newspapers, and then stand in a corner and look around the room. In this case, approximately (very approximately) a million newspaper letters will be visible. Can you imagine what a huge pile it is!
Let's move on to the pimples. There can't be 9 million of them, compare the size of the hall and the surface of a basketball.
From the same wiki article, we learn that the circumference of the official basketball (size 7) for men's competitions is 750-780 millimeters. But I no longer believe the author of the article, since he writes such nonsense, he went google. No, indeed, an average of 765 millimeters.
Go to WolphramAlpha and write "sphere circumference 765 millimeters", only in English, of course - "sphere circumference 765 millimeters". All this, of course, for the lazy. For those who have forgotten how to calculate the radius from the circumference, and the surface area from the radius.
For those lazy ones, it will be convenient to write at the very bottom of the page - the surface area is approximately equal to 186 283 mm 2 .
Now we find a high-resolution photo of a basketball in Google:
We mark a square on it (of course, such an uneven square) with sides of about 8x8 pimples. Those. it turns out that in a square of 25x25mm we have 64 pimples.
Well, on the total surface of 186 283 mm 2 we get ~19 075 pimples.
And this is not counting the black stripes, in this calculation we will assume that the pimples are evenly distributed over the surface of the ball, not taking into account the black grooves-stripes and the logo.
Well, where are nine million (9,342,059) and where are nineteen thousand (19,075)?
Just think, 500 times the error came out...
If anyone is registered on Wikipedia, please correct it there. And then I have a principle - never edit either a wiki, or a lurka, or any other online encyclopedia.
Why do you need stripes on a basketball - a scientific explanation
18:16
How many hours of sleep help you lose weight
18:17
A math puzzle that caused a tenth grader's parents to fight: can you solve it?
18:31
Microsoft will disable all downloadable macros for Excel, Word and other Office applications0005
18:32
Apple introduced Tap to Pay. It turns the iPhone into a payment terminal, only in the US so far
18:03
Why do you need stripes on a basketball - a scientific explanation
18:03
Why hotel bedding is always white
18:01
The Chinese were accused of luring Motorola employees to steal technology
18:01
Too weak fighter engines forced China to abandon laser weapons
18:01
Monkeys who survived natural disasters age faster
17:47
in Russia February will start issuing QR codes based on the results of the antibody test
08.
02.2022, 16:15
Standard basketballs look about the same - they are all covered with small pimples and black lines applied in a strict pattern. But these lines don't just give the ball its distinctive look, they make it easier to play basketball.
Nothing is done just like that. And the lines on a basketball are no exception.
Basketballs can differ in a number of ways. For example, by color, inscriptions, as well as size and weight. Size 7 men's basketballs have a circumference of about 75–78 centimeters and weigh approximately 600 grams. Women's balls (size 6) and children's balls (size 5) are smaller. But there is one feature that distinguishes a basketball from a football and volleyball - these are pimples and encircling black lines. Both of them make it easier to control the ball.
The specifics of the game are such that basketball players often have to hold the ball in their hands and direct it in different directions. And if the ball were completely smooth, it would constantly slip out of the hands, because the fingers would have nothing to catch on.
