Basketball

Basketball was invented in 1891 by Canadian-born physical education teacher James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts. Of those Americans citing their favorite sport, basketball is ranked second (counting amateur levels) behind football. However, in regards to professional sports, basketball, or the NBA, is ranked third.^[1]
The National Basketball Association, more popularly known as the NBA, is the world's premier men's professional basketball league and one of the major professional sports leagues of North America. It contains 30 teams (29 teams in the U.S. and 1 in Canada) that play an 82-game season from November to April. After the regular season, eight teams from each conference compete in the playoffs for the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. The American Basketball Association, active from 1967 until 1976, when it merged with the NBA, was the last major competitor of the NBA.
Notable NBA players in history include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Magic Johnson, Bob Cousy, Pete Maravich, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, John Stockton, and Jerry West, whose silhouette is featured on the NBA's logo. Notable players in the NBA today include Kobe Bryant, Yao Ming, Tim Duncan, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, Paul Pierce, Pau Gasol, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Manu Ginóbili, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Shaquille O'Neal, Michael Beasley, Chris Bosh, Kevin Love, Tracy Mcgrady, Monta Ellis, Ray Allen, Vince Carter, Russell Westbrook, Jason Kidd, Rajon Rondo, Deron Williams, Gilbert Arenas and Amar'e Stoudemire.
In the past decade, an increasing number of players born outside the United States have signed with NBA teams, sparking league interest in different parts of the world. Among the notable foreign-born players in the NBA today are two-time MVP Steve Nash (a South Africa-born Canadian), Peja Stojakovic (Serbia), Andrei Kirilenko (Russia), Andrea Bargnani (Italy), Žydrūnas Ilgauskas (Lithuania), Yao Ming (China), 2007 Finals MVP Tony Parker (France), Gasol brothers Pau and Marc (Spain), Manu Ginóbili (Argentina), and Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), who was the first European player to win the NBA Most Valuable Player Award. Notable retired foreign-born players include Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria), who won an MVP award, two Defensive Player of the Year awards, and two Finals MVP awards, and Dikembe Mutumbo (DR Congo), who has won four Defensive Player of the Year awards.

United States men's national basketball team playing in the 2008 Summer Olympics

Since the 1992 Summer Olympics, NBA players have represented the United States in international competition and won several important tournaments. The Dream Team was the unofficial nickname of the United States men's basketball team that won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics.
Like American football, basketball at both the college and high school levels is quite popular throughout the country. Every March, a 68-team, six-round, single-elimination tournament determines the national champions of NCAA Division I men's college basketball.
Most U.S. states also crown state champions among their high schools. Also like American football, many high school basketball teams have intense local followings, especially in the Midwest and Upper South. In states like Indiana and Kentucky, it is common for local high school basketball teams to play in gyms that seat more than 5,000 spectators, even in the more rural areas.^[4] Indiana alone has 10 of the 12 largest high school gyms in the United States and is famous for its basketball passion, famously known as Hoosier Hysteria.
More Americans play basketball than any other team sport, according to the National Sporting Goods Association.
Netball, a derivative of basketball invented in the United States and usually played by women, is popular in Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, and the West Indies.

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